Packers Tender Tonyan, Sullivan And Lock up Lazard And Their Other ERFAs

The Packers have made qualifying offers to Allen Lazard, Yosh Nijman, Randy Ramsey, and Malik Taylor.  As ERFAs, the Packers merely had to issue contracts.  The players cannot negotiate with other teams, so in practice they have little choice but to sign the contracts. 

The deals for Lazard and Nijman are both for one-year at $850K.  The other deals are for $780K.  They are not guaranteed.  They offers count against the cap immediately even though they have not yet been signed by the players.

Bill Huber reported that the Packers have issued a tender to Chandon Sullivan at the $2.133M Right of First Refusal level. Tom Silverstein reported that the Packers issued a tender to Robert Tonyan at the $3.384M second round level.  Tenders are not guaranteed but count immediately against the cap even if they have not yet been signed.  The Packers can still negotiate short or long-term deals with Sullivan and/or Tonyan.

Note that if the Packers elect not to match offers for Sullivan, they will not be eligible to receive any compensatory pick.  The Packers would receive the acquiring team's second round pick for Tonyan.  That could be anywhere from the 33rd to the 64th overall pick in this year's draft.

The effect on the Packers efforts to get under the salary cap have been summarized in the Packer Tracker.  Details on the Aaron Jones extension and the restructure of Billy Turner have not yet been made public.

Sullivan and Tonyan can solicit offers from other teams until April 23.  If they agree to terms with a different team, the player can sign an offer sheet.  The Packers have five days from the time the player signs the offer sheet to match all principal terms exactly. 

That means the Packers will not be certain of retaining Sullivan and Tonyan until April 23, long after the start of free agency and less than one week prior to the start of the draft.  Both players should inspire interest from other teams.  Decent tight ends are hard to come by in the NFL.  The question then becomes whether even one team believes Tonyan is worth a second round pick and whether they are willing to pay him more than the tender in addition to giving up a draft pick. 

Whatever issues Sullivan had this year, he played 729 snaps for the Packers, so he essentially had a starter's role.  I can think of a lot of not very good corners (Buster Skrine comes to mind) who were signed for far more than $2.133 million.  Sullivan is young and some teams might think he still has upside.  2020 was his first year as the starter, so he could learn from that season and improve.    

These moves (not including the signing of Aaron Jones) push the Packers to being more than $7M over the salary cap limit.  Aaron Jones' cap number can not be less than $4.24 million if the reports of a $13 million signing bonus are correct.  Including the minimum cap charge possible for Aaron Jones, the Packers have to be at least $11 million over the cap.

They have until 4:00 PM Wednesday to get under the limit.

 

 

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Comments (31)

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 16, 2021 at 04:32 pm

These are all important moves by the Packers. I chose to use a photo of Lazard simply because I haven't used his photo in a long time.

The Sullivan tender is the most interesting move to me. I had expected the Packers to sign him to a contract for perhaps $1.5M, probably guaranteeing a fair amount of that money, rather than use a tender. Assuming the Packers are not going to re-sign Kevin King, there is a risk of losing two starting CBs who played 1,395 snaps last year.

Tonyan is also something of a risk. It depends on how the rest of the NFL values him. As I've noted, I would not be upset if some team wrote an offer sheet if the Packers got pick 33 for Tonyan, but I am far less keen on getting a pick in the sixties. TEs are hard to find. The Packers have not re-signed Lewis even though he tweeted out his desire to play in 2021.

Getting pretty far over the cap limit again (click on the Packer Tracker link highlighted in the article to see how these moves fit into the giant puzzle being put together by Gute). Still, other players to consider re-signing. The restructure of Turner is chump change. The Packers need to extend ZaDarius and big time. When signed in 2019, his first-year cap hit was $7M on a $16.5M AAV deal. Tough to do that extreme an amount since he has $5M prorated from his last deal. Still, the Packers could generate cap savings of over $10M, and that's probably the area they will need to reach.

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buddrow53's picture

March 16, 2021 at 05:13 pm

What do you expect from Rodgers , has to have something going on, dont you think?

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 16, 2021 at 05:28 pm

I expect GB to keep AR in their back pocket during free agency. Eventually, they will have to be quite aggressive, probably restructure him to the tune of $10M plus. Ken Ingalls disagrees with me.

GB needs at least $22M, probably $30M more than they have at present. EDIT: I have to go back and recalculate. Tendering Sullivan and Tonyan displaces 2 players making $660K. Nijman is at $850K, not $780K.

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buddrow53's picture

March 16, 2021 at 05:31 pm

Does that happen tomorrow before 4pm? are we not 9+ mil over? doesnt seem like there is much choice is there ?

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 16, 2021 at 05:59 pm

True. But GB can grab $8M, $10M, $13M, or some other number. But I don't know how Gute will go about it. Sounds like Turner, then Z's extension. Maybe they do AR first and work on Z's extension for another week.

Gonna need quite a lot more.

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flackcatcher's picture

March 16, 2021 at 08:53 pm

Thanks TGR. Quite a puzzle for Ball and Gute. My guess is the Turner extension is done and their working on Z. Smith contract numbers. Would not be surprised if they are holding, Adams and Rodgers till they get the Cap numbers. My gut says the Packers do not want to extend either. Tomorrow is going to be interesting, that's for sure.

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HankScorpio's picture

March 16, 2021 at 04:53 pm

Good move on Tonyan. If he does walk, they get a 2nd. And probably not a 2nd in the ballpark of their current 2nd. The teams picking that low in the draft don't have the cap space to craft an offer the Packers won't match, generally speaking. Couple a mid to early 2 and big cap expense and he's all but locked in at the tender offer.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 16, 2021 at 05:23 pm

Yeah, I, too, looked at the teams drafting late in the 2nd, in the sixties. They eithe already have TEs or have no money. But I didn't look at teams at 59 or lower. That's Russ Ball work - I have other things to do.

I wouldn't be thrilled with pick 52 either for Tonyan. Not sure where I draw the line. Maybe 40.

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HankScorpio's picture

March 16, 2021 at 06:06 pm

I wouldn;'t be thrilled with creating the hole at TE that would not be likely to be filled. But any second rounder for a guy that is not a top 10 player on the team would ease the sting considerably. Yeah, 'ya gotta hit on the pick and Tonyan is a known quality. But I long ago accepted that being able to draft is a requirement to sustained success.

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flackcatcher's picture

March 16, 2021 at 08:39 pm

With Sternberger's? Injury Packers need to draft or sign another TE no matter what happens to Tonyan. The two D's are at best move TE and play F-Backs (FB) in Lafleur scheme. And that even is if they resign Lewis. Might end up a bit thin there at the beginning of the season.

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CoachDino's picture

March 17, 2021 at 08:38 pm

I know we have had this conversation and you convinced me than the 2nd rd tender was the right move, It would of been silly not too after reviewing the information and obtaining an understanding.

that said, I'd have no problem seeing Tonyan walk for 2nd even at the end of the round but ya the sooner the more convincing of a favorable move.

I just think Jace can come in and handle the duties if not better at least close to the same level. The you have JD, who though is a different TE specialist can still fill the role and then you bring back the Hback/TE they used at the end last year (man, I can't remember names as I get older). I predicate this all on MLewis coming back and being the inline #2 TE.

Not a knock on Tonyan, he is a great story and I hope all the best for him. His hard work and dedication paid of when the opportunity came his way.

But he is not special by any means, IMO, and you can still find special players at key positions throughout the 2nd rd. You could land a starting OT and Cornerback (Jenkins/Cosmi/Dilnunz/Carmen/Campbell/samuel/Newsome/Robinson or IDL Alim McNeill, there will be all sorts of edge guys even ILB if interested - Cox, Bolton, Kentucky Kid. Sure some will be go in the 1st rd bhut many of these are rd 2 guys.

So one of the above plus Jace vs Tonyan

Heck p/u anoth TE to start to develop then.

Great point on all the snaps between king and Sullivan. Losing both is no joke and needs to be taken serious. So IMO right of first refusal/Match? was a prudent move for Chandon, it's not like he shouldn't get paid. I would love it if he improved, he's not that far off. Just like there to be someone of quality to handle the heavier workload/importance that the Slot DB is becoming in this league. To your point, its a starter position nowadays. One reason why ILB isn't as important as it used to be in the league.

In the end some of these depth guys are going to have to step up. The Packers obviously (my most used word of late) have gone all in, just look at the cap issues.

The packers have done such a fantastic job of drafting that they end up paying their own and aren't forced into the FA market. Who are all the "Bad" contracts the Packers are saddled with? Who is known for signing their own FAs? Add those up and contrast that to their cap situation and it equals great draft and they have gone all in.

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stockholder's picture

March 16, 2021 at 07:26 pm

Lewis//Sterberger//Nauta// Tonyan///Deguara//Dafney . A lot of Tes. Tonyan is worth a 2nd pick. I believe the packers won't be able to match it. The Cards, Patriots And chargers all list TE as a Need. My bet is the Chargers.

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The_Justicar's picture

March 16, 2021 at 07:24 pm

Any hints if they might extend Adams for cap space?

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 17, 2021 at 12:02 am

I finally got a twitter account several months ago. I've issued two tweets to date! I use it to reply to others and to get notifications.

So far, nothing on Adams, though I don't follow very many media types. It is just assumed that the Packers will extend Davante. It would be natural to get $4M to $6M in cap savings (even if they weren't having cap issues).

I assume Davante's extension will come down. Maybe he wants giant money since he thinks he is the best WR in the NFL?

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Leatherhead's picture

March 16, 2021 at 07:25 pm

No TE that we took in the draft can replace the three years of practice with Rodgers that Tonyan has under his belt

I don’t see how we can afford all this. Something has to give..

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Dzehren's picture

March 16, 2021 at 08:22 pm

With the reduction in 2021 cap these are gear moves. GB needs to find value due to these cap restrictions. Don’t be like the Bears and fine Andy Dalton $10M to 13M. The franchise is really clueless.

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splitpea1's picture

March 16, 2021 at 08:32 pm

Hard to believe they did that; if there was ever an offense that needed a QB with scrambling ability, it's the Bears.

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flackcatcher's picture

March 16, 2021 at 08:56 pm

Please, let us all enjoy the misery that is the Chicago Bears....

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Dzehren's picture

March 16, 2021 at 09:18 pm

Chicago’s OL is so terrible. Hard to think any QB could be successful let alone Andy Dalton. Dalton will be in retirement before week 12 is my guess.

Not sure how many times the Chicago Bears Franchise can completely miss on the QB position. The most important position in sports. It’s laughable at this point.

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Dzehren's picture

March 16, 2021 at 09:18 pm

Chicago’s OL is so terrible. Hard to think any QB could be successful let alone Andy Dalton. Dalton will be in retirement before week 12 is my guess.

Not sure how many times the Chicago Bears Franchise can completely miss on the QB position. The most important position in sports. It’s laughable at this point.

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Roadrunner23's picture

March 16, 2021 at 09:53 pm

RELAX

Russ Ball-er has got this!

The dude is a flipping wizard!

Much will be revealed in the next 24 hours!

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Roadrunner23's picture

March 16, 2021 at 09:55 pm

And now the Bears have 2 crappy veteran QB’s instead of Russ!!!!!!!!!!!

WINNING

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Crankbait's picture

March 16, 2021 at 11:24 pm

Tonyan is the best TE the Packers have Had in a long long time makes me sick that they are going to end up losing him.

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Johnblood27's picture

March 17, 2021 at 08:21 am

Tonyan is a scheme guy that doesnt drop the ball.

He is mediocre on the talent level.

If the GBP garner a 2nd rounder and he walks, it is a pretty good deal.

Sternberger, Deguara, Dafney and Lewis make a decent stable of TE and there is always a possibility of addition.

The sky is not falling if Tonyan walks. Take a breath.

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jhtobias's picture

March 16, 2021 at 11:37 pm

People need to relax thier are things going on which no one knows about .. Not sure if Lowrey has naked pictures on Gutey and Murphy but if they take a 6 million plus cap hit for that guy that will be hilarious ! Then if Lowrey is still on this team with that cap hit everyone on this site has the right to bitch and complain .

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 17, 2021 at 02:51 am

Jamaal Williams signed with Detroit for 2 yrs, $7.5M.

The Packers will not tender Lancaster. Not really a surprise. They might try to sign him cheap, though.

Packer Tracker has been updated. I do check the comments on the Packer Tracker article.

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Irish_Cheesehead's picture

March 17, 2021 at 06:54 am

Can we save on Yosh Nijman’s contract and just have him stand on the sidelines for free?

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Johnblood27's picture

March 17, 2021 at 08:19 am

Yosh is gonna be the starting RT, book it.

IT IS TIME!!!

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joejetson's picture

March 17, 2021 at 08:51 am

Wake me up when they add someone who can upgrade their defense from "laughingstock" .

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fastmoving's picture

March 17, 2021 at 05:58 pm

funny pic, is this the unamerican, weak, orange coward the people (besidesQ) kicked out with the guitar? Thanks god this moron is finally in jail, after he run America into the ground and the whole world was laughting at us. You are so right this Clown, without any morals or values is a disgrace. Well done.......the good people with brain and soul laughting at russian troll Trump. Really a cool pic. Like you said, we are so blessed he is kicked out huge. The neandertaler moron. Just great.....good times ahead.
Lombardi smiling down......

The D of course was no laughting stock at all. Its our sport...nothing for sissies.....

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Nate-1980's picture

March 17, 2021 at 06:38 pm

Please shut up about trump and politics you obsessed psycho, nobody cares..

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