Green Bay Packers: Why Not Give DL Timmy Jernigan a Call?

DL Timmy Jernigan’s deal fell through with the Houston Texans and the Green Bay Packers should consider giving him a call.

As defensive coordinator Mike Pettine put it recently on a Zoom call with reporters, the Green Bay Packers defense had their worst performance of the season at the absolute worst time. Of course, he was referring to the NFC Championship Game, and while their inability to stop the run certainly was ugly that night, it was also an issue for much of the 2019 season.

Overall the Packer defense did improve last year. Although they’d give up some big plays and struggled to contain the run game, as a unit they’d give up the ninth fewest points per game in the NFL while carrying this team to victory on a few occasions.

And for the Green Bay Packers who are looking to get over the hump and back to the Super Bowl, an improved run defense will go a long ways towards achieving that.

But with limited spending power this offseason, they were unable to make that flashy signing that they did a year ago and in the draft, they didn’t use a single pick on an interior defensive lineman.

This means that they’ll need players already on the roster such as Kingsley Keke and Montravius Adams to take a big step forward in 2020 or get a bigger boost than what is expected from Treyvon Hester and Gerald Willis.

However, the Packers now may have another avenue.

It was recently reported that Timmy Jernigan who was a free agent this spring and agreed to a deal with the Houston Texans is now back on the open market. And while Jernigan may not be an instant game-changer for the Packers upfront, any added reinforcements aren’t going to hurt either.

Jernigan has battled injuries the past two seasons but has been cleared medically to play. However, he did not take his physical with Houston, and instead the two have agreed to part ways. Thus making Jernigan a free agent once again.

Jernigan is still just 27-years-old and is a former second-round pick with the Baltimore Ravens where he spent his first three NFL seasons prior to being traded to Philadelphia. Over his first four seasons, he would appear in 58 games, including 41 starts, and recorded 15.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, and 43 quarterback hits.

Green Bay needs help against the run and that is what Jernigan can provide. During that same span of time, he ranked in the top-15 among all interior defensive linemen in run-stop percentage two different times according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Yet as already mentioned, injuries have derailed the past two seasons with Jernigan appearing in only 13 of 32 games. With neck and foot injuries being the cause for this missed time, this is certainly something that the Green Bay Packers will have to vet, but if healthy, this addition could be a steal for them.

While we know that the Packers don’t have a ton of cap space to work with, they did just free up about $3 million with the restructuring of Lane Taylor’s deal. And because of Jernigan’s recent injury history, he comes with a very affordable price tag, even for the Packers.

Prior to their fallout, Jernigan and the Texans had agreed to a one-year deal that will pay a maximum of $3.75 million with just $1.25 million guaranteed. Obviously the hope would be that Jernigan could stay healthy and provide a boost against the run, but even if the injury bug rears its ugly head again, that type of contract isn’t going to make or break Green Bay.

We also have to mention Jernigan’s connect to Green Bay Packers’ Director of Football Operations, Milt Hendrickson. Hendrickson was on the Baltimore staff that drafted Jernigan and in his short time in Green Bay, we’ve already seen the Packers show interest in several former Ravens players.

How big of a factor that truly plays we may never know, but it’s certainly something worth noting.

Ultimately the biggest question mark around Jernigan is his health, but if the Green Bay Packers feel comfortable with where he’s at, then there is really no reason that they shouldn’t pursue him.

He’s still a relatively young player who has had success at the NFL level, particularly against the run where Green Bay could use the help, and he isn’t going to break the bank by any means. A one-year prove-it deal to add a player like Jernigan to the mix at a position of need just makes a lot of sense.

Green Bay is already banking on Christian Kirksey, Devin Funchess, and Rick Wagner to have bounce-back seasons after battling injuries, so why not take a flier on Timmy Jernigan?