Even Without Finley, Packers Have Large TE Group

This offseason, the Packers surprisingly re-signed many of their free agent veterans, including B.J. Raji, James Starks, and Sam Shields.  However, the talented, yet often-injured Jermichael Finley has yet to ink a deal with any of the 32 teams in the league.  That’s not to say he’s slowing down or aging; the main reason for his exile has to do with the neck injury that he suffered against the Cleveland Browns on October 20, which led to spinal fusion surgery.  Since then, Finley has been cleared by the doctor that performed his surgery, and although the Seattle Seahawks, a team that was reportedly interested in Finley, has announced that they will no longer pursue the tight end.  Still, according to Mike McCarthy, the Pack haven't "closed the door" on Finley's return quite yet.

I believe that when he’s healthy, Jermichael Finley can be one of the best tight ends in the league, despite his tendency to drop accurate passes.  That being said, do the Packers really need Finley in order to win the Lombardi Trophy?  Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of my favorite players, but they already have several tight ends on their 90-man roster that could eventually play at or above Finley’s current level.

If the Packers really are moving on from number 88, the assumed starter would most likely be Andrew Quarless.  When Finley tore his ACL in 2010, Quarless stepped in as a rookie and proved to be a viable target for Aaron Rodgers in their Super Bowl run.  Green Bay also resigned Quarless in March to a 2-year, $3 million deal, so they’re obviously interested in what he could potentially become in a year or two.  Even if he doesn't turn out be the kind of player they’re hoping he’ll become, he could still play a major role on special teams, similar to Cornerback Jarrett Bush and Linebacker Jamari Lattimore.

The man with the next best opportunity would be Brandon Bostick (above), a 3^rd-year former undrafted rookie that has intangibles similar to Finley’s (6’3”, 250 lbs.).  After playing special teams most of the time, Bostick was called into action in 2013 after Finley’s neck injury.  Although Quarless handled most of the load, Bostick had seven catches for 120 yards and one touchdown.  They’re not eye-popping numbers, but Bostick has shown a lot in the last two years in training camp and preseason.  Can he translate it to the regular season/playoffs?  We’ll either find out sooner than later, or he could be replaced by one of the two tight end rookies.

With the 98^th pick in the 3^rd round of the 2014 Draft, the Packers selected Richard Rodgers out of California (no relation to Aaron, if you were wondering).  This selection came as a surprise to many fans; not that they picked a tight end, but because Rodgers was rated much lower by some of the draft experts on TV.  His low draft stock may have something to do with him switching to the wide receiver position during the 2013 season at Cal.  However, he’s now at 257 pounds (a good weight for a tight end in today’s game) and could play as a vertical threat in the Packers’ passing game, as opposed to being more of a blocking tight end.  Now that the OTAs have run its course, many players and coaches are beginning to rave about the young tight end, including his own quarterback.

It’s helmets and shorts, but you’ve got to be excited about his body type and the hands. He’s made some incredible catches. He makes it look easy. I think he's really going to push for some playing time if he can transfer what he has done in the spring to the fall and have the potential to be an impact player."

- Aaron Rodgers, per The Bleacher Report

Perhaps the most intriguing tight end of this group is undrafted rookie Colt Lyerla of Oregon.  In fact, I can't remember an undrafted rookie on the Packers that has received so much attention, even before training camp.  If you don't know about Lyerla, I'll clue you in on all of the hubbub: To many, Lyerla is considered to have talent worth as high as a late-first round pick.  However, his off-the-field issues, which includes multiple arrests and a guilty plea to cocaine possession, scared away teams from drafting him.  He also unexpectedly left his college team in October for "personal reasons".  It might take an incredible amount of effort and counseling to get Lyerla to act on a professional level, but if he's able to mature, we could still be talking this young man  in about five or six years.  The other tight ends on the roster include Ryan Taylor and Jake Stoneburner.  Taylor, a 4th-year veteran on the team, has played a large role on special teams, and besides his 8 career receptions, that's been about it.  As for Stoneburner, he's only seen decent action in preseason games and a couple of snaps after the Finley injury.

Looking at the group as a whole, there's plenty of potential, yet it is mostly unproven talent.  Obviously, teams draft and sign many young players based on potential, but that can only go so far.  Take last season's quarterback situation, for instance.  Based on his potential, McCarthy could have continued to start Scott Tolzien, but he decided to go with Matt Flynn because he had already shown that he can play in the regular season.  Would this be the same case for Jermichael Finley and the other tight ends?  It's hard to say.  The only thing that I would say about that is that Green Bay has invested more in Quarless and Richard Rodgers than they have in Tolzien, so I would be certainly disappointed if they were never given a chance to do much.  Plus, I have a feeling that Finley won't be taking any kind of hometown discount with the Packers, so unless they're willing to squeeze the salary cap, it may be best to move on from "The Big Cheese".