Green Bay Packers: Is a Reunion with Randall Cobb in the Cards?

We all know the Green Bay Packers need help at wide receiver, so is bringing back current free agent Randall Cobb a move they should make?

From his rookie season in 2011 all the way up until his last year with the Green Bay Packers, Randall Cobb was a key cog in this offense. During that time he was Green Bay’s primary slot receiver and he had that special on the field rapport with Aaron Rodgers that gave the Packers a dangerous combination.

However, despite his role and the success that he had here in Titletown, the Packers decided not to re-sign Cobb prior to the 2019 season and he would end up in Dallas with the Cowboys. Instead, Green Bay rolled the dice on their young core of receivers being able to step up perform alongside of Davante Adams. But we all know how that turned out.

Geronimo Allison, to put it simply, just had an awful season. Meanwhile Marquez Valdes-Scantling actually saw his playing time decrease. J’Mon Moore was cut, Equanimeous St. Brown was placed on IR, and even with all of that going on, Jake Kumerow still didn’t see the field very often.

So now with the offseason upon us, everyone knows that bringing in some much-needed wide receiver talent is at the top of the to-do list, and that begs the question, should the Green Bay Packers bring back Randall Cobb?

While he isn’t going to be the same player that he was a few years ago, there are still reasons that a reunion makes sense. For one, the Packers tight salary cap situation. According to Spotrac, Green Bay has just under $22 million in available space, much less than what they had in 2019.

Now, as many are aware they can create an additional $12 million in cap space by moving on from Jimmy Graham and Lane Taylor. However, when we factor in salaries for the rookie draft class, the practice squad, the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster, as well as reserves for the 2020 season, all of a sudden the Packers are back down around the $20 to $25 million mark in terms of cap space.

Given that they just have less spending power this offseason, coupled with major needs at tackle, inside linebacker, kicker, interior defensive lineman, and other positions, spending $12 million per year on Robby Anderson or $19 million per year on Amari Cooper just doesn’t seem feasible.

With that said, that doesn’t mean they should avoid looking for a receiver in free agency all together. They’ll just have to be more cost conscious in their decision-making. So an ascending player like Breshad Perriman or a veteran like Cobb who made $5 million in 2019, makes a lot of sense, especially when pairing with a dynamic rookie from the draft.

Not to mention that as I’ve already highlighted, Cobb has a strong rapport with Rodgers, which as we’ve seen isn’t easy to develop, and that chemistry could really help bring some continuity to the passing game. Also, Green Bay is in need of a slot receiver. While Matt LaFleur will use multiple receivers there, in 2019 that was primarily Allison’s responsibility. And we saw how that played out.

Lastly, and perhaps most important, Cobb still had a really good 2019 season in Dallas. He would play in 15 of the 16 games and hauled in 66 percent of the passes thrown his way for 828 yards, at over 15 yards per catch with three touchdowns. Not too shabby, if you’re asking me.

On the flip side, it’s also worth pointing out that in Cobb’s last three seasons in Green Bay, he appeared in just 37 of the 48 regular season games and averaged only 10 yards per catch. What this offense desperately needs is more playmaking ability and we didn’t see nearly as much of that from Cobb in those final seasons.

He will be entering his 10th NFL season and if the hope is that we see the Randall Cobb of 2014, well that just isn’t realistic. But as we saw from him last season in Dallas, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

And take this as you will, but prior to the 2018 when the cornerback position was a bit of a mess, Brian Gutekunst brought back veteran Tramon Williams to help provide some stability to that unit and paired him with a young playmaker in Jaire Alexander. Could Green Bay do the same thing this offseason but at wide receiver?

If the Green Bay Packers do decide to bring Cobb back it would likely be on a one year deal, maybe even two, but with a way out after the 2020 season. And his signing should in no way stop them spending a top draft pick on the wide receiver position. In fact, that will still be a must.

When we look at the rest of the free agent wide receivers, unless Green Bay is going to spend top dollar, there just aren’t a lot of proven players available who are coming off of strong 2019 seasons. Especially at an affordable price. However, Randall Cobb is pretty darn close.