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Juni
2019

McCarthy sounded thrilled about Breeland�s arrival

Almost all of the Packers� resources this spring have been spent on the defense. Brian Gutekunst now must work on the offense in day two of the 2019 NFL Draft."Mike Pettine must be grinning on this Friday morning. Last night Adrian Amos Jersey , Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst provided him with two exceptional athletes in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, one for the front and one for the back of the defense. Gutekunst was aggressive on Thursday night, identifying the players that the Packers wanted early � months early in the case of 12th overall pick Rashan Gary � and making a big move upward to grab safety Darnell Savage at 21.New head coach Matt LaFleur, however, could be excused for thinking �what about me?�APC reactsSubscribe to the Acme Packing Company podcast!After all, the new head man in Green Bay is an offensive guy who will call the team�s plays and is installing a new scheme this spring (or at least a significantly different version of the West Coast offense). And so far, of all the Packers� significant additions this offseason, only one � offensive lineman Billy Turner � has come on that side of the football.Za�Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Adrian Amos in free agency, and now Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage in the draft ... that�s a lot of capital, both in terms of the draft and future salary cap money, invested to give Pettine every tool possible to improve the Packers� defense. Now Tramon Williams Jersey , with picks 44 and 75 on day two of the draft in his pocket, Gutekunst must look to the other side of the football.He even alluded to this in his press conference late Thursday night. �This obviously was a focus of ours,� he said about the overall investment in the defense. �We�ve added a number of bodies to that and guys we�re really excited about.� But he joked that LaFleur might like to see some more athletes as well: �I�d like to think we�re gonna still stay true to allowing the best player available to come to us (but) I do have an offensive coach sitting to my left in the room.�All told, the board set up for a strong draft on defense to start, but it was still a bit of a surprise that Gutekunst did not draft an offensive lineman on Thursday. Perhaps the biggest shock was the Savage pick coming � that trade up felt at the time like a spot where the Packers were moving up for a falling tackle like Washington State�s Andre Dillard. Either the team views Turner as a long-term answer at tackle, a real possibility, or they feel that they can find contributors on days two and three this weekend, because there are still major question marks at guard and right tackle.Heading into day two, Dalton Risner and Jawaan Taylor look like the most plausible Packers linemen with that 44th pick, if they fall all the way there. Gutekunst�s one prior offensive line draft pick, Cole Madison, had a less-than-stellar workout; Risner�s athletic testing was better than Madison�s, plus he can play multiple positions. Taylor is a tackle only DeShone Kizer Jersey , but he did not work out this spring and has a knee injury that reportedly caused his fall out of round one. Adding Oklahoma�s Cody Ford to the mix and you see a group of linemen who should be in the mix at least the next time the Packers are on the clock.Then there are questions about pass-catchers, particularly tight ends. The two Iowa players, Hockenson and Fant, both went in the top 20 picks. That leaves Alabama�s Irv Smith as a possibility if he falls to 44, though his overall athleticism does not match the kind of level that Gutekunst has tended to draft so far in his brief career. Instead, a player like San Diego State�s Kahale Warring (who visited the Packers before the draft) or LSU�s Foster Moreau are much better athletic fits for the Packers and will likely be available on day three.Gutekunst could also grab a free-falling wide receiver. DK Metcalf�s fall out of round one probably should not be a shock, but between him, teammate A.J. Brown, South Carolina�s Deebo Samuel, and Ohio State�s Parris Campbell, there should probably be one exciting receiver available when we reach 44. There are a number of players who could slip all the way to 75 as well � keep an eye on Missouri�s Emanuel Hall as a sleeper there.Regardless of what specific position they target, however, after all the investment in the defense it�s now time for Gutekunst to turn his attention back to providing protection and options for Aaron Rodgers. The defense has its impact players now; the offense can use some help on day two.Bashaud Breeland Contract: One-year deal with Packers gets veteran minimum benefit The Green Bay Packers would have had to shell out $8 million per year for three years to match the contract that cornerback Bashaud Breeland reportedly agreed upon earlier this year. Those were the terms of the unofficial agreement that Breeland and the Carolina Panthers came to during the so-called �legal tampering� period before the official start of free agency.Then Jimmy Graham Jersey , Breeland had an incident in the Dominican Republic, a foot injury got infected, and he failed his physical. A $24 million deal vanished in the blink of an eye. Now he is a Green Bay Packer, as the team officially announced his signing on Wednesday.If Breeland is indeed fully recovered from that infection � and given how conservative the Packers� medical staff is, that�s a strong likelihood if not a certainty � he�s going to be quite a bargain. ESPN�s Rob Demovsky reported on Wednesday that Breeland�s contract is for one year and $790,000, which is the minimum salary in 2018 for a player with four years of NFL experience. Demovsky added that the deal also includes a $90,000 bonus, which is paid out in three equal parts over the course of the regular season. Since three games are already gone, Breeland will earn 13/16 of that base salary and the full bonus, which comes out to $731,875.Less than three-quarters of a million bucks for a starting-caliber cornerback who drew more than ten times that on the open market? Well done, Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball. But wait � there�s more.Breeland�s deal would actually cost the Packers even less against the salary cap. This is thanks to the NFL�s veteran minimum salary benefit rule Muhammad Wilkerson Jersey , which incentivizes NFL teams to sign veteran players with four or more years of experience.Essentially, the rule says that if a veteran player signs a one-year contract for the veteran minimum base salary (which varies based on experience level) and that deal has no more than $90,000 in bonus money, the contract�s cap hit is reduced. In any of these situations, the number drops to the minimum salary for a two-year veteran, which in 2018 is $630,000. Again, since the contract comes part-way into the season, it is prorated to reflect the number of games remaining, so cut that down by 3/16ths to a final number of $511,875.Head coach Mike McCarthy sounded thrilled about Breeland�s arrival in his Wednesday press conference. �He gives us experience,� McCarthy said, adding �I�m always interested in the ball skills of the defensive backs Marcedes Lewis Jersey , and obviously he has that.� Indeed, Breeland recorded nine interceptions and 59 pass breakups in four years, adding seven forced fumbles as well.In what was perhaps a veiled shot at Ted Thompson and his unwillingness to look for veteran assistance for most of his tenure, McCarthy expanded when asked about some of the issues the team has had at cornerback in the past. �You can never have enough of any position and definitely the cornerback position has been a challenge for us,� he said. �We�ve struggled with depth the last few years, so the fact that we were able to bring in a veteran with experience is outstanding.�What is also outstanding is that the Packers were able to get him in the building cheaply, both in terms of cash and salary cap impact.