Morning Buzz: Is Cleveland becoming Green Bay East?
Aaron Nagler
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a cup of coffee (or brew some tea, if that’s your thing) and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.
We’ll start with Pete Dougherty’s latest column looking at the Packers' history with punters and how JK Scott hopes to be a bright spot in it.
Maybe the most telling fact about the Green Bay Packers’ brutal history of drafting punters is that they went 13 years without selecting one after the B.J. Sander fiasco.
You might remember Sander, who is one of the more notorious draft picks in team history. In 2004, coach Mike Sherman made the stunning decision to trade up to select a punter in the third round. Sander played in only 14 games for the Packers and in the NFL.
General manager Brian Gutekunst finally ended the franchise’s punter-less draft streak this year by selecting Alabama’s JK Scott in the fifth round. The 13 drafts without taking a punter speak to the difficulty of identifying an NFL punter while he’s still in college, and the availability of punters off the street who are at least good enough.
But then Gutekunst and coach Mike McCarthy went all-in on Scott after the first practice of rookie orientation camp last week by cutting their punter from last season, Justin Vogel. Vogel wasn't out of work for long, being claimed on waivers Monday by the Cleveland Browns.
At the risk of handing the job to a rookie, Gutekunst and McCarthy decided that a spot on the 90-man roster was more valuable for an undrafted rookie who plays a regular position than a punter to compete with Scott.
The Packers' former punter unsurprisingly landed in Cleveland:
I chatted with readers via Facebook Live on Monday afternoon:
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix held his first foundation fundraiser in Green Bay on Monday:
Elsewhere, The Power Sweep has one fact about every undrafted free agent:
Brian Jones gets to know the Packers' first-round pick:
Cory Jennerjohn makes the case for Geronimo Allison:
Notre Dame is proud of the Packers' latest undrafted free agent:
Jaire Alexander answered fan questions via Twitter:
ACME Packing Company has no qualms about instant draft grading:
A man who hates the Packers recaps their draft:
Dusty brings back the Three Amigos, Packers style:
Lombardi Ave. has some offseason power rankings:
NBC 26 has footage from the Clinton-Dix fundraiser: