The Facts:
Following up on the
ongoing story. ... Maybe the proverbial light finally went on. Maybe Finley is ready to provide the consistency and steadiness the Packers have craved. And maybe Finley can become a reliable, dependable target every game. Or maybe not. That's one of the biggest dilemmas GM Ted Thompson will wrestle with in the upcoming weeks.
Reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
Do the Packers pay Finley a $3 million roster bonus in March and commit to him in 2013? Or do they decide the bad simply outweighs the good and move in another direction? As Journal Sentinel staffer Rob Reischel notes, Finley seemed to have one foot out the door at midseason thanks to a lack of productivity and more off-the-field drama. But Finley came to life over the final two months and might have saved his Packer career for the time being. "I really felt Jermichael Finley was a different man, a different player from the bye week on," HC Mike McCarthy said during his season-ending press conference. "There was a change in that young man. ... But we obviously have to look at the first half, too, and make sure that's part of the evaluation because we're all judged on 17 games." In the nine games before Green Bay's bye week, Finley caught 29 passes for 271 yards and one touchdown. The last four games before the bye were particularly rough, as Finley had seven catches for 73 yards and no touchdowns. Finley had a much better second half, though. Over his final nine games (including playoffs), Finley caught 37 passes for 441 yards and one touchdown. He finished the regular season with 61 catches for 667 yards and just two touchdowns. The 61 receptions were the most ever by a Packer tight end, while the 667 yards were the fifth most in team history. Finley ranked ninth in the NFL in receptions among tight ends and 12th in yards. Finley, who signed a two-year, $14 million deal last off-season, has a base salary of $4.45 million for 2013. In all, his cap number would be $8.75 million.
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