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It really must be the dawning of a new era in Green Bay, as the Packers have now signed their second free agent. . .of this offseason.
Numerous sources are reporting that the Packers will be signing former New York Jets defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson to a contract. It is, apparently, a one-year, $5 million deal.
On the surface, Wilkerson seems to be a bit of an odd signing for Green Bay, as he doesn’t seem to fit in with the “blah blah Packer Way” stuff that we hear constantly. He got a huge contract from the Jets before the 2016 season, a five-year deal with a whopping $53 million in guaranteed money. However, after he got paid, his play fell off dramatically, as he went from generating 12 sacks in 2015 alone to just eight sacks in the two seasons that followed combined. He also started showing up late for meetings and had some other disciplinary issues as well.
Wilkerson is, essentially, signing a “prove it” deal with the Packers. If he can show that he’s motivated, the Packers got someone that can obviously make an impact on the defensive side of the ball for them. If they get the guy that’s shown up for most of the past couple of seasons. . .well, they’ve wasted $5 million, which is a whole lot better for the Minnesota Vikings and their fans.
There has been plenty of activity today, and free agency doesn’t even “officially” start for about 18 hours yet. There’s certain to be a whole lot more to follow in the next couple of days.