As with many players entering the final year of their contract, Greg Jennings would love the security of a long-term extension.
But unless there’s a surprise in the next few days, the Packers wideout is resigned to the fact this could be his final year in Green Bay, and he wants to make the most of it.
“Whether the contract comes with Green Bay in the near future or one of the other 31 teams, that’s the reality of it,” Jennings said, via Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That’s the way I have to approach it. My mind-set is 20 weeks of football with the Packers and then this is it.
“This is my last year with the Packers under contract. That’s my mind-set. I’m not thinking about contract. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I have to make sure I go out there and do what I’ve been doing for six solid years here to get myself a chance to play somewhere.”
Finding a home won’t be a problem for a big-play receiver such as Jennings, who has 6,171 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns in six seasons.
During the season, it becomes harder, and Jennings said he told agent Eugene Parker not to bother him once the season starts unless he was close to finishing something.
“My agent knows, we know our march to what we’re trying to reach,” Jennings said of the price range. “That’s it. Unless we come to those numbers, then I don’t want to hear anything about it.
“Like I said, I have one thing on my mind, that’s football this year with this team that I’ve been loyal to for six years. I’m a realist. I don’t put it past anyone. This organization has to do what it has to do for itself and I have to do what I have to do for Greg.”
The Packers have hard-balled pending free agents before, but never with a legitimate star such as Jennings, who will command as much money. There’s no reason to think he’s worth less than the $11.1 million per year with $26 million guaranteed Tampa Bay gave Vincent Jackson.
And with players such as Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji also in line for bumps, it’s hard to know if the Packers can, or will be able to do the deal, or franchise him, or watch him walk away.