The Green Bay Packers have had some buyer’s remorse this season when it comes to their free agent signings. While offensive guard Aaron Banks showed signs of life along the offensive line in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, cornerback Nate Hobbs was sitting on the sidelines as he recovers from a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his knee.
Hobbs has been a Rubik’s Cube since signing a four-year, $48 million contract with $16 million guaranteed last spring, but the biggest mistake has been casting him as an outside cornerback after finding success in the slot with the Las Vegas Raiders. While Carrington Valentine has outplayed him on the outside, the possibility that the Packers could move him to his previous role has been wiped out with the emergence of Javon Bullard.
With Valentine and Bullard both thriving in their roles, it’s possible that Hobbs may not have a job to come back to when he recovers from his latest injury, potentially throwing his future in Green Bay further into question.
Javon Bullard is Making Packers’ Nate Hobbs Decision Even More Difficult
Bullard came into the season as the Packers primary slot corner but his year didn’t get off to a good start. After allowing 15 receptions on 18 targets for 111 yards in the first four games, it appeared that his time was numbered especially with Hobbs working his way back from a torn meniscus and a concussion and Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine holding down the other two starting spots.
But things have changed since the Packers returned from the Week 5 bye. In addition to being Green Bay’s highest-graded corner in the past four games, Bullard has also cemented his spot as one of the best corners in the league, with his coverage grade ranking eighth among qualifiers and his overall grade ranking ninth according to Pro Football Focus.
Before Bye | After Bye | |
|---|---|---|
PFF Overall Grade | 48.9 | 77.4 |
PFF Coverage Grade | 51.6 | 78.4 |
Completion Rate Allowed | 84.0% | 80.0% |
Yards Per Coverage Snap | 0.93 | 0.49 |
Touchdowns Allowed | 0 | 0 |
Interceptions | 0 | 0 |
Pass Breakups | 0 | 1 |
Bullard’s rise to prominence has been parallel to that of Valentine’s. The Packers saw him as a depth piece coming into the season, but Valentine has taken another step in his third season, posting career-highs in overall grade (76.0) and coverage grade (78.9) according to PFF. While Carrington’s three touchdowns are alarming, he’s only allowing a 51.4% completion rate when targeted and has taken the outside job across from Keisean Nixon.
With Bullard, Nixon, and Valentine locked into their jobs, it presents a tough situation for Hobbs to come back to. After dealing with a torn meniscus in the preseason and a concussion before the bye week, Hobbs hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough and hasn’t performed well enough to keep his job.
Hobbs’s contract also becomes a concern for Green Bay moving forward, but it does present a way out. While Hobbs has a $13 million cap hit for next season, the Packers still save $1.05 million as a pre-June 1 cut or $9.05 million as a post-June 1 cut next season, according to Spotrac. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz mentioned last week that this could be the most likely scenario for the two sides moving forward.
“The bad news is that with the MCL sprain, it might be a while before Hobbs can turn around his performance,” Schatz wrote. “Cornerback performance is inconsistent and hard to predict. The good news for Green Bay is that Hobbs’ contract is structured more like a one-year deal with three team options, so the Packers can easily move on this offseason if they want.”
Watching money go down the drain is tough for any franchise to swallow, and the Packers may still be in business for a corner even with Valentine and Bullard performing well. At this point, Hobbs just needs to get on the field to show he can still be part of the Packers’ plans, but it’s looking more like he might not get the opportunity.