Green Bay Packers To Release Jordy Nelson; Sign TE Jimmy Graham

GREEN BAY, WI — In a stunning sequence of events Tuesday, the Packers made two moves with sizable impacts on the offense. The Green Bay Packers are planning to make a huge splash on the free agent market by giving quarterback Aaron Rodgers a new pass-catching threat at the tight end position.

According to NFL reporter Adam Schefter, the Packers intend to sign tight end Jimmy Graham to a three-year contract. Terms of the deal have yet to be publicly announced.

Graham spent the first five years of his career with the New Orleans Saints. With quarterback Drew Brees throwing passes to him, Graham established career highs of 1,300 receiving yards in 2011 and 16 touchdowns in 2013. His career numbers dropped off a bit when he spent the last three years with Russell Wilson as his quarterback in Seattle. Now Packer fans can only wait to see what all-world quarterback Aaron Rodgers will accomplish with a legitimate threat at the tight end position.

The Packers are also cutting ties with wide receiver Jordy Nelson. Per Bleacherreport.com: "Nelson’s four-year contract for just under $40 million was well deserved. But now at the age of 32 and clearly on the decline, the Packers should pull the plug ... Cutting Nelson would conjure up $2.3 million in dreaded dead money, but would give the team $10 million in needed cap space."

Packers Trade Randall For Kizer

Earlier this offseason, in his first major move as the General Manager of the Green Bay Packers, Brian Gutekunst shipped on-again, off-again cornerback Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns for starting quarterback DeShone Kizer.

The teams also exchanged draft picks in the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2018 NFL draft, with the Packers moving up in each round.

The acquisition of Kizer could mean the end of backup quarterback Brett Hundley's time in Green Bay. After starter Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury in October against the Minnesota Vikings, Hundley notched three victories against seven losses in relief.

In a 31-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 26, Hundley went toe-to-toe with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to complete 17 of 26 passes for 245 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also completed 35 of 46 pass attempts against the Browns on Dec. 10 for 265 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

While those may have been the bright spots, Hundley struggled with the likes of Detroit twice, Minnesota twice, Baltimore and New Orleans that for all practical purposes, played the Packers out of playoff contention in 2017.

In Kizer, the Packers get a mixed bag of sorts, with some potential. The 6-foot-4, 233 pound signal-caller took his lumps in Cleveland, tossing 11 touchdowns against 22 interceptions for a down-and-out Browns team that failed to win a game in 2017.

In Kizer, the Packers see a player who has a much stronger arm, and a better passer especially in the pocket.

The trade of Damarious Randall comes with some serious intrigue. The Packers sent their number one corner to the Browns on the same day that the Seattle Seahawks announced they were going to let all-pro corner Richard Sherman test the free-agent market. When asked about testing free agency, Sherman told reporters he was looking for a winning team where he could feel comfortable that had a great quarterback.

That description sounds mighty familiar to Packer fans.

When the Packers selected cornerback Damarious Randall with the 30th pick in the 2015 NFL draft out of Arizona State, their hope was that the athletic - yet slightly undersized - cornerback would take the reigns in the defensive backfield.

To his credit, the 5-foot-10, 194-pound corner has made use of his above-average ball skills to make 10 interceptions, deflect 32 passes and make 126 total tackles in the three years he has played in the league.

The downside is that Randall has been criticized over the years for being unprepared during critical plays, has dealt with a spate of injuries that has led to lost time in each of the last two seasons and is not the most physical player in coverage.

The bottom line for the Packers is that they feel they can get better on defense with whoever replaces Randall at corner, whether its a free agent such as Sherman or in the early rounds of next month's NFL draft. At the same time, they improved their standing in the draft's middle rounds while giving Head Coach Mike McCarthy a new person to train behind starter Aaron Rodgers.

Patch.com File Photo by Scott Anderson