Packers Morning Buzz: Kyler Murray to Green Bay 'longest of shots'

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with Ryan Wilson's story for CBSSports.com listing 10 NFL teams that make sense for former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray now that he has committed to playing football. The Packers made the list, even though Wilson concedes it's a stretch:

We admit, this is out there. But CBSSports.com's Will Brinson mentioned it on the Mock Draft Monday Pick Six Podcast and it's not the craziest idea, right? Isn't this what happened to Brett Favre? The Packers used a first-round pick on Aaron Rodgers and after two seasons Favre was with the Jets. Favre, by the way, was 35 when Green Bay took Rodgers, who is ... 35. Look, this feels like the longest of shots, and the Packers certainly aren't trading up for a quarterback. But remember when Rodgers slipped all the way to 24th when many thought he'd be the first player taken? What happens if Murray slides to the bottom of Round 1 on draft day and Green Bay is on the clock?

Far-fetched though it may seem, the Packers were ranked seventh on the list. You can read the entire story here:

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com lists players who are potential candidates to be released (noting that the process has already begun with Atlanta cutting cornerback Robert Alford and Houston releasing receiver Demaryius Thomas).

Rosenthal projects "strong candidates for release" in each conference, and No. 2 in the NFC is Packers edge rusher Nick Perry.

Rosenthal writes:

Perry has only been healthy enough to play more than 550 snaps once in his seven-year career. That season (2016) is what afforded him the huge deal that the Packers will now likely get out of.

For what it's worth, no other Packers made Rosenthal's lists of "strong candidates," "potential surprises" or "other players in trouble." You can read the entire piece here:

Jim Owczarski's condemnation of the Packers' special teams represents the final installment in our nine-part position analysis series with 2018 grades. As Jim notes, every aspect of the Packers' special teams operation was substandard, and every area needs to be upgraded.

What's the biggest need? Take your pick, but here was Jim's take:

A dynamic kick returner. It sounds outdated, with the way the league has de-emphasized the kickoff. But with Trevor Davis essentially missing the entire season due to injuries, the Packers employed a rotating group of players who were replacement-level catchers of the ball. There were no dynamic returns. No touchdowns. No momentum changes and flips of field position.

And even worse, there was Ty Montgomery's ill-fated return attempt against the Rams that resulted in a lost fumble and extinguished the Packers' final shot at victory. Montgomery was traded to Baltimore shortly afterward.

You can read the entire story here:

With the start of NFL free agency looming in March, it's almost franchise-tag time. Tuesday is the first day teams are allowed to tag players, and The MMQB took a team-by-team look at potential candidates. When they got to the Packers, they discovered what Green Bay fans already knew:

A bunch of names of consequence are up for new deals here—Clay Matthews and Randall Cobb come to mind—but likely nothing on the tag front.

The Packers are one of several teams lacking players worthy of the tag. You can read the entire story here:

At CheeseheadTV, they're concerned about the effect that Eric Reid's deal with the Panthers will have on the Packers' efforts to upgrade at safety:

Acme Packing Co. sees a potential opportunity for the Packers to land a highly regarded defensive lineman: