Vernon Davis vs. Richard Rodgers: Who's been better since the trade?

Remember when we were all kinda mad that Packers general manager Ted Thompson didn’t trade for Vernon Davis near the NFL trade deadline? Let’s take a look at Davis’s stats since the trade and compare them to the numbers put up by Packers tight end Richard Rodgers over the same time period.

Vernon Davis: 19 catches, 196 yards, zero touchdowns.

Richard Rodgers: 26 catches, 237 yards, 5 touchdowns.

Rodgers also had one of the most memorable catches in Packers history to beat the Lions on a Hail Mary. Davis dropped a fourth-down pass last week that cost his team a shot at beating the Raiders.

Does all of this mean Ted Thompson was absolutely 100 percent correct in not trading for Davis? Of course not. Who knows what might happen the rest of this season? And who knows what type of numbers Davis might be putting up right now if he had Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball?

All I’m saying is a lot of the consternation we saw from some Packers fans when Davis went to Denver instead of Green Bay was probably an overreaction. You have to let these things play out before you grab the torch and the pitch fork.

I have no doubt Thompson did his homework on Davis and determined he wasn’t worth giving up a draft pick. So far, Thompson appears to be right. 

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Comments (66)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
ballwegpatrick's picture

December 17, 2015 at 12:20 pm

fwiw vernon can block

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Tundraboy's picture

December 17, 2015 at 12:41 pm

Giving up a draft pick would not have been smart. It's not like he would have made a big difference given all the problems on O this year.

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EdsLaces's picture

December 17, 2015 at 01:03 pm

For all the hate RR has been EASILY the most consistent threat on offense...period. James Jones had a few good weeks. Eddie has had a few good games. Starks has had some good games, but RR has been catching tds and solid gains alll year long. Dude is slow as heck but he has amazing hands and I will take that over a WR with a case of the dropsies any day (17).

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Tundraboy's picture

December 17, 2015 at 01:22 pm

Yes he doesn't get far after a catch but he catches the ball!

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croatpackfan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 04:48 am

Do not lie. You love it... But you are, as usual, wrong...

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EdsLaces's picture

December 18, 2015 at 06:50 am

As explosive as this offense has been in years past...it is very depressing. But even though I agree with you for once I still hate your face.

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TKWorldWide's picture

December 19, 2015 at 07:07 am

Which is "Cow" for "I couldn't be happier"

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Razer's picture

December 17, 2015 at 01:31 pm

Packer fans would have been crying in their beer if Vernon Davis had dropped as many Rodgers passes as he did last Sunday. Davis can be a dominant player when his isn't a distraction and chooses to show up. We don't need guys that turn the team into a circus when things aren't going so well. I appreciate that our locker room kept together and positive during this rough patch. It is the mark of good teammates and solid coaching.

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WKUPackFan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:22 am

Singletary was right so many years ago.

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billybobton's picture

December 17, 2015 at 01:32 pm

Wow, great idea for an article

can you go back and compare Brandon Jackson to Marshon the beast mode Lynch?

how about Randy Moss to ruvell martin?

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4thand1's picture

December 17, 2015 at 05:50 pm

B Jackson has a ring too, plus wasn't an asshole. R Moss never would have happened. To much baggage for that diva.

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sheppercheeser's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:02 pm

Not exactly comparing apples to apples. Vernon has Matthew throwing at him, Richard has Aaron. I'd rather have AR and I'm sure RR feels the same way.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 17, 2015 at 07:20 pm

Who's Matthew?

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sheppercheeser's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:04 pm

Oops, I mean Vernon has had Peyton and who ever, currently, is his backup.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 17, 2015 at 07:19 pm

Brock Osweiller is the QB for Denver now. Manning hasn't played since shortly after the Packer game. He's been injured and Osweiller is playing pretty well. Even beat NE leading to speculation that he will finish the season for Denver and Manning will ride the bench for the rest of the season. Tho I doubt that.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:12 pm

"Remember when we were all kinda mad that Packers general manager Ted Thompson didn’t trade for Vernon Davis near the NFL trade deadline?"

No.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:53 pm

Me either

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chugwater's picture

December 17, 2015 at 04:49 pm

I'm with you Fitz. But they were out there. Never mind that 30 other teams in the league took a pass on him too. The pro-traders were just mad he didn't trade for SOMEBODY.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 11:03 am

It's not accurate that 30 other teams took a pass on Davis.

Making a trade takes two parties coming to an agreement.

For all anyone knows, 30 other teams were all interested and attempting to acquire Vernon Davis, but either they didn't offer what SF wanted, or SF just didn't want to do business with them.

Which, coincidentally, means the Packers may have made an offer as well. We'll never know.

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4thand1's picture

December 17, 2015 at 05:52 pm

No many in here liked the idea if I remember correctly. I kinda wanted to see it happen though.

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ray nichkee's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:13 pm

I didn't understand a word you said but nice boobies!

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ray nichkee's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:15 pm

That was a reply to sheppercheeser.

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ray nichkee's picture

December 17, 2015 at 05:28 pm

That was a reply to sheppercheeser.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:41 pm

Before even reading the article - let me get my 7 chuckles now because I know the salty TT bashers are coming (or already came)

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 17, 2015 at 04:56 pm

I do not recall any groundswell in support of trading for Davis. I do not follow the NFL other than GB much and had little idea how much Davis still had in the tank. I expect 2 or 3 TT-bashers might come out of the weeds (and other fan sites) to criticize TT, though I suspect they are all trolls.

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hobbes's picture

December 17, 2015 at 06:19 pm

I dunno about groundswell, but Davis was definitely the top choice of fans clamoring for some sort of trade. There's always going to be a certain proportion of every fan base that wants the instant gratification of a "big addition"; some are very well trolls but other really just want to see their team make a big splash and pick up someone they instantly recognize. I would argue that it's fundamentally not a proper choice in all but a very few circumstances but people want that high that their team has gotten better in an instant.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:57 pm

First off, not all of us wanted Vernon Davis.

I know more than a few of us who don't care too much about him and already knew TT wouldn't go for it.

That's not to say we weren't dissatisfied with Rodgers' play, but we also weren't in "we must get Vernon Davis to save this offense" mode either.

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FITZCORE1252's picture

December 17, 2015 at 03:08 pm

That's the category I fell into.

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RCPackerFan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:01 am

I really didn't want Davis. I didn't think he was going to be a good fit for our offense, and honestly I thought Quarless coming back was going to have a bigger impact then what Davis would have had.

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tobinrote's picture

December 17, 2015 at 02:57 pm

bring back larry pinkard

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Packer_Pete's picture

December 17, 2015 at 03:16 pm

Some still goes back to the draft where some Packers fans wanted Vernon and Ted drafted AJ Hawk. But in reality, that year the draft wasn't very good up top. The first 15 were:

Mario Williams
Reggie Bush
Vince Young
D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Hawk
Davis
Michael Huff
Donte Whitner
Ernie Sims
Matt Leinart
Jay Cutler
Haloti Ngata
Kamerion Wimbley
Brodrick Bunkley
Tye Hill

Need I say more? Less than a handful are very good players, and Hawk actually was one of the better picks.

And certainly not all of us wanted Davis. I am fine with RR. At least he can catch the ball. And only 4 TEs have more TDs than RR so far this season...

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phillythedane's picture

December 18, 2015 at 10:16 am

Brodrick Bunkley? That's awesome.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 11:09 am

I'm going to go with my gut without checking back at drafts, but I'm guessing if you look at most drafts 9-10 years after the fact, you'll only find a handful that ended up being very good players.

Everything about any given draft comes down to projection, and it's almost a crap shoot as to if top college talent has the ceiling to remain top tier talent at the pro level.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 17, 2015 at 07:16 pm

Can't measure it just by stats. Davis would provide something that the Packers don't currently have and Rodgers can't give. A deep threat.

That said, I'm not interested in a comparison of them because Davis was never really considered by the Packers in trade. Davis has only ever run a limited route tree w/ SF and the Packers wouldn't acquire a player that can't or won't run the full route tree. Davis has only been used by SF on the top end of the route tree. I don't know if Denver is doing anything different, but the Packers wouldn't get him for many reasons and that was likely one of them.

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RCPackerFan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:03 am

Yeah, depressing... very depressing.

He is the one guy that I truly believe could make our offense dynamic again. Unfortunately its look bleak.

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RCPackerFan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:05 am

I didn't want Davis. I think Quarless will have just as big of an impact then what Davis would have.

But regardless either would be a tone better then Perillo. While Perillo surprised me, he just isn't a fast enough TE.

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RCPackerFan's picture

December 18, 2015 at 10:56 am

Yeah, kind of sad that I say that.

But factor in how the Packers operate. They won't put anyone on the field if they don't know their assignments and know their plays. It would likely take Davis a half a season to learn the offense enough to play enough to be productive. And even then Davis has declined from his younger days. He is not the same player he once was. In the Packers last game against the 49ers with Hawk, Hawk was running stride for stride with Davis. He is not as dynamic of a player as he used to be.

Also factor in that Quarless is a guy who knows the offense and has played with Rodgers for a long time. Once he is healthy enough he will likely be able to step right in and contribute.
With him just knowing the offense he has a huge step up versus Davis, factor in that Rodgers trusts him, I see Quarless having a bigger impact.

Exactly my point about Perillo. They already have a slower TE in Rodgers, they don't need another.
They need a faster TE to stretch the seam a bit. Quarless and Backman are both faster then Perillo.

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NickPerry's picture

December 18, 2015 at 06:03 am

I was one of those Packers fans who wanted the Veron Davis trade to happen. I also knew the chances of it happening were slim to none. I'd also say it's safe to assume Davis is still faster than any Packers Receiver active on the roster on Sundays right now. You can't compare what Davis has done with Brock Osweiller and what he'd do with Rodgers either. Two different QB's, two different offenses. I'm not suggesting Davis would have been the cure of the Packers Passing woes, but you just never know either. It's not like the Packers have much experience of what a trade might or might not do under Thompson.

I'm also a Packers Fan who doesn't think Ted Thompson can do no wrong. IMO he completely misses the boat not participating in FA or Trades. I'm not talking about the Break the Cap signings either, but a player or 2 here and there that could improve your roster shouldn't be treated like a Disease. I've always said Thompson is the best Cap Manager in the Business, but a GM is a hell of of a lot more than Cap Manager. When a GM has had Brett Farve and Aaron Rodgers as his starting QB's but has 3 times as many one and dones in the Playoffs than Super Bowl appearances and STILL refuses to adjust even a little, I think that's wrong. Personally I'm tired of reading each year the Packers still have $17 million in Cap Space and are sitting the same place you and I are, on the Sofa.

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Tundraboy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:35 am

I agree what's the point of having so much cap space if we are always saving it for a rainy day.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:48 am

While I don't believe I had much of an opinion on Davis, I distinctly recall thinking Rob Housler could probably help GB as a receiving threat, though probably not as a blocker. As it happens, Housler is on IR and in any case had been cleanly beaten out by Gary Barnridge, 65 rec for 901 yards, so far, with a good chance to gain 1,000 yards.

At the end of the day, I realize that in part because I only watch GB games, I do not know whether the games of various FAs would fit on GB. Case in point: up above someone indicated that Davis does not run a full route tree; I do not know if that is correct, and if so, whether that is a big deal for a GB TE. I assume that there are mid level FAs that could help GB, but TT generally only is interested in the very cheap FAs and occasionally in fairly expensive ones (Woodson, Pickett, Peppers).

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NickPerry's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:37 pm

I liked Housler too and if remember correctly he wasn't signed until later in FA. One that I still can't believe Thompson passed on was Owen Daniels. I understand there were injury concerns with Owens, but he's done pretty well with Baltimore in 2014 and Denver this year. There was even a write up on Cheesehead TV about Daniels coming for a visit.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 11:23 am

Only 20 QB's have EVER appeared in more than one super bowl, and MOST of them did that before the free agency era.

Only 11 QBs have EVER won more than one super bowl.

Again, today's modern NFL fans severely underestimate how difficult it is to get to the super bowl, and also have inflated, unrealistic expectations for the success of their teams.

The physical nature of football, the injuries, the number of people on a field having to work together in perfect unison, the level of competition between world class athletes, and most importantly, the single-elimination format all combine to make reaching a super bowl, much less winning it, one of the most difficult feats in modern professional sports.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 07:34 pm

I don't think you get it.

Having a great QB still isn't any type of guarantee of winning a SB.

You can have all the expectations you want.. It doesn't make them realistic.

We've had three HOF QBs in the Super Bowl era, and at least one SB victory for each of them. That's better than a lot of teams, and QBs, can say for themselves.

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SpudRapids's picture

December 18, 2015 at 11:56 am

Cow you have angst and frustration over everything. If the Packers win by 35 you'll comment on here that they should of won by 49 and that the opposing team sucked. You are purely negative in all your posts.

TT used his cap space to sign his own e.g. Cobb, Daniels, etc... When is the last time TT lost a free agent in his prime? Also, remember that when a team lets a player walk they know more about him than any other team. A healthy cap is a healthy future and I for one am fine with TT not spending cap space frivolously.

Only the Patriots have had more success than the Packers since McCarthy has been our coach. Whine and be frustrated all you want but you sound like a spoiled rich kid who didn't get the Ferarri on his birthday.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 12:39 pm

TT lost Davon House in his prime, and he's currently rated as one of the top eight performing CBs in the league, actually.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 18, 2015 at 02:54 pm

He's the only one worth mentioning. However it should be noted that House was injured every year while in GB which is why he was never a starter abd was allowed to leave. Possibly Hayward will leave this year.

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Oppy's picture

December 18, 2015 at 07:39 pm

Yes, he was banged up during his time in GB, but I think Shields and Williams were the reason why House wasn't a starter for GB.

I believe the Packers had every intention of signing House, but they wanted to see what the market would bear for his services before offering him a contract. I think House (or his agent) decided they weren't interested in being patient or took it personally, and decided they weren't going to wait for GB to make an offer based on the actual market.

No way of ever knowing, but I really believe the Packers thought they'd counter offer on House (unless another team offered him stupid money) and they figured he'd accept a fair deal to stay in GB... But not every player is that patient or wants to stay in GB.. though an awful lot of them do.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 19, 2015 at 08:00 am

House was the starter in training camp in "12 I believe it was, and was slotted to be the regular season starter, except for an injury late in training camp that cost him the job. Everytime he started making an impresssion and getting close to being a starter after that he kept getting injured.

House said he loved GB, but wanted to be a starter. That wasn't likely in GB especially when he college coach the DC in Jax, ask him if he wanted to start for them and they offered 6M per immediately. That effectively took House out of the equation for the Packers. The Packers were much more likely to sign Tramon anyway.

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4thand1's picture

December 19, 2015 at 08:07 am

121 was a long fuckin time ago.

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BradHTX's picture

December 18, 2015 at 01:00 pm

"Only the Patriots have had more success than the Packers since McCarthy has been our coach."

There's no denying the Patriots have been the most successful team of the current era, just based on the number of Super Bowl wins.

On records, an interesting thought... Jeff Albrecht point out the teams' records in his article about the final Vikings game: 73 wins from 2009-2014 for the Packers vs. 80 for the Patriots. But it's worth noting, I think, that the Packers have played in a tougher division: during the McCarthy era, usually two out of the Bears/Vikings/Lions have been good, with one other NFCN team making the playoffs as a wildcard most of the recent years.

The AFCE, on the other hand, has been pretty bad through most of the Bellicheck era in NE. The Jets have been up and down, making the playoffs a few times, but the Bills have been more down than up and the Dolphins have been pretty putrid. That in itself probably accounts for at least one win per season, which in turn almost accounts for the Pats' seven game advantage over the Packers.

That doesn't excuse the Packers' frustrating string of one-and-dones, but it might show that the teams aren't that far apart — the Pats are just better closers.

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MarkinMadison's picture

December 18, 2015 at 07:47 am

1) I don't think anyone was upset TT didn't trade for Vernon Davis. He stated on draft day he didn't want to come here. His production is down.

2) I think it could have helped the team to bring him in. This article presents a false choice: Davis or RR. You could put both on the field at the same time. I'm willing to bet Davis is still faster than RR, and could have stretched the seam more effectively, clearing out easy catches underneath for RR, with GASP more room for YAC.

3) I think a 6th rounder was given for Davis. Yeah, TT loves his draft picks, and we can all name a few successful 6th rounders if we think long and hard enough. Bottom line is that even in Green Bay most 6th rounders don't last more than two years before being replaced. Rolling the dice on Davis would not have been this huge lost opportunity that the TT disciples make it out to be.

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Dan Stodola's picture

December 18, 2015 at 08:07 am

R. Rodgers had what many considered the best Deep Threat in the NFL on the team last year, and GASP, RR still couldn't get YAC. There's just no denying the man will never get YAC, break tackles or threaten the seam. He is what he is, a slow but reliable TE who will make contested catches and get a few TD's every year.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 18, 2015 at 09:17 am

What's a 6th round pick worth? Here is TT's history of 6th Rounders:

2015: Ringo, Ripkowski, Backman; 2014: Goodson;
2013: Palmer; 2012: None;
2011: Schlauderaff, D. J. Smith, Ricky Elmore
2010: Starks; 2009: Wynn, Underwood; 2008: None
2007: Corey Hall, Desmond Bishop, Mason Crosby;
2006: Johnny Jolly; 2005: Mike Montgomery, Craig Bragg

13 players from 2005 to 2013 (I exclude '14 and '15 since the jury is still out. Clearly, Starks, Bishop, and Crosby have been good players for GB. Jolly, Wynn and Montgomery helped GB. 6 of 13 is 46%.

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SpudRapids's picture

December 18, 2015 at 11:57 am

The biggest difference is upside... you have a contributing player for no less than 4 years if you hit on a 6th rounder vs. a trade for a player in decline in which you could see maybe 2 years out of.

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MarkinMadison's picture

December 19, 2015 at 09:29 am

If you could magically put any of those guys on the Packers tomorrow at the same age as Vernon Davis, how many are going to help the 2015 Packers make a Super Bowl run this year more than even a diminished Vernon Davis? I'd say Crosby and Bishop, and counting a kicker is kind of like cheating because only an idiot drafts a kicker or punter in the first four rounds.

So this is where the philosophical difference lies: people like TT who are not willing to sacrifice future potential for the present v. the Patriots who will make the trade and bring the guy in. Making the trade does not always work, but it is a risk/reward proposition. The Broncos were willing to bet they could get something out of Vernon Davis. I'm willing to bet the Packers could have got a little more out of him. And he matches a clear need.

RR balled against the Lions, but disappeared last week. 1 catch for 3 yards v. the Cowboys. He's averaging 3.75 receptions per game for the season. Right now, this Packers team needs more or you can forget about the Super Bowl.

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SpudRapids's picture

December 18, 2015 at 12:01 pm

A 6th rounder is also a draft pick you can trade on draft day. I like draft picks over relics in decline any day.

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SpudRapids's picture

December 19, 2015 at 02:08 pm

I won't apologize for recognizing great management of the Packers cap and personnel. I'd rather have a legitimate shot every year than mortgaging the future. There are no guarantees that signing free agents results in Super Bowls... Watch how shitty the Broncos are going to be in a year or two. I think your head would explode if that happened to the packers.

P.S. I think your an entitled prick

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BradHTX's picture

December 18, 2015 at 12:35 pm

Never really wanted Davis, personally.

More importantly, and sorry it took so long for any of us to say it — Adam: great to see a post from you. Hope you are doing well, know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Stay strong!

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chaka's picture

December 18, 2015 at 01:00 pm

Colt Lyerla would be better than either TE and better than all on our current roster.

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BradHTX's picture

December 18, 2015 at 01:02 pm

Hard to catch the ball in handcuffs.

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NickPerry's picture

December 19, 2015 at 04:42 am

Now THAT was funny!

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TKWorldWide's picture

December 19, 2015 at 07:17 am

And the reason he's not tearing up the NFL with some other team is...?

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4thand1's picture

December 19, 2015 at 12:21 pm

I think chaka is really Colt L. I think chaka means Colt in some Indian culture. UUMMMM, look at young chaka run through meadow.

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4thand10's picture

December 19, 2015 at 12:52 pm

I think RR is more flexible. When other teams play certain styles of defense...you need a TE that can be on the LOS and block..which he is capable of. Using RR in the backfield as a blocking FB (against Dallas) just shows his versatility. I don't think VD is capable of doing any of those things. I know RR doesn't have a lot of YAC, but one can't say DB's aren't feeling it when trying to tackle 260 lbs. For being in his 2nd year...I would say there is a lot of upside to RR.

I will admit, it was kind of a head scratcher when TT picked him, but I can see his value now and what he brings to the team.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 20, 2015 at 01:17 am

I simply disagree. RR cannot yet block. He might learn.

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