Amidst all the young rookie draft picks, street free agents and roster hopefuls at the Packers’ OTA workouts, it’s hard to miss the guy wearing that familiar number 18 jersey.  Hustling hard, running routes, setting an example. 

Randall Cobb doesn’t have to be here.  Several of his veteran teammates are not.  This portion of offseason workouts is voluntary.  When a reporter asked him why he’s here, he simply stated “because I want to be here”.   

Yes, he does. He actually wants to be here.  He’s one of those players for whom football is more than just an occupation.  It’s a passion.  A lifelong love.  He treasures every minute.  “I love playing football” he said this week.  “I know that I can’t play forever and I know that time is dwindling, and I’m just trying to savor the last little bit, all of it, as much as I can.” 

Cobb knows the score.  He will turn 32 years old this season.  He’s not as fast or as quick as he used to be.  General Manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed last year that Cobb owes his presence on the team to the insistence of his close friend Aaron Rodgers.  Cobb doesn’t apologize for that, nor should he.  But with the arrival of a trio of drafted receivers, combined with the signing of veteran Sammy Watkins, Cobb knows this is likely his last dance, at least with the Packers, a team he loves and couldn’t wait to rejoin after short stays with the Cowboys and Texans.  In fact, he agreed to a salary cut of over five million dollars to come back for this campaign. 

He intends to make the most of it, and there’s a decent chance he can do just that.  You can make the argument that, at the present time, Cobb is the team’s number one receiver.  Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are gone, Allen Lazard has never been a number one and hasn’t signed his contract yet, no one knows what Watkins can bring to the table, or if he can stay healthy, and Amari Rodgers has barely seen the football after one season.  The Packers are going to need Cobb’s eleven years of experience.  They are going to have to depend on his knack for making the key play when it is most needed.   

They are also expecting Cobb to be an effective mentor for the young guys, a role he is already showing in OTAs that he embraces.  “I make sure that I continue to push myself and to work hard and to make sure that I am creating the standard.  I think that’s the most important thing for myself as to why I’m here, is to create that standard for the young guys coming in so they know what’s expected and how we do things.” 

The rookies are taking notice.  Cobb says, from what he has observed, second round pick Christian Watson “has all the tools”, and now just needs to refine them.  He told Watson that becoming a polished pro receiver is a process and requires patience as well as hard work. 

Those qualities have served Cobb well during a career that has manufactured some of the sweetest memories of the past two decades for fans of the Green and Gold.  My two favorites are his 108 yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Saints in 2011, his very first game as a Packer.  It was a franchise record.  And catching that fourth down 48 yard TD bomb from Rodgers in the final minute to knock the Bears out of the playoffs in 2013. I still laugh at loud when I remember how that play stunned and silenced a sellout crowd at Soldier Field 

He is a sure-fire future inductee to the Packers Hall of Fame.  His highlight plays may be behind him, but his ability to come through in the clutch is very much alive.  Cobb caught just 28 passes last season, having missed five games with a core muscle injury.  Yet, 21 of those 28 receptions resulted in a first down.  Five of them were touchdowns.  Despite having lost a step, he still averaged over 13 yards per catch.  Aaron Rodgers may be counting on him more than ever when it’s third and ten. 

That would be more than okay with number 18, whose fire and motor still run as hot as they did back in 2011 when he stepped on to Lambeau Field for the first time.  You can still see it in the OTAs of the past week.  “Come out every day, not just show up and be here” he said after one of the workouts.  “Excel and push each other as a group.  The more that we are connected together and the more that we play for each other, the more it’s going to mean in the end.” 

If 2022 is the end for Randall Cobb, here’s hoping he goes out with a ring on his finger.