The NFL season ends in disappointment for 31 out of 32 teams every year. This year the Green Bay Packers are left as one of those disappointed teams after losing 26-20 in overtime to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Divisional Round. While they fell short this year in their chase for the Super Bowl and another ring, here are some players they should retain in order to try and go for the Super Bowl again next season.
Mason Crosby
It's tough to estimate the true value of an NFL kicker. Crosby had one off year in his career to this point, when he hit only 63.6% of his kicks during the 2012 NFL season. But this year, with the extra points being moved back, Crosby hit 36 of 36 and only missed four field goals all season long, for a nice 85.7% field goals made. Of course, one of those field goals was at home against the Detroit Lions that he missed that would have been nice to have back. But for the most part, Crosby is a kicker that can be trusted, and even though he is going to turn 32 by the time the 2016 NFL season rolls around, they should re-sign him for several more years as it can be tough to find a reliable kicker otherwise.
Nick Perry
So, you may look at his stats and be a bit disappointed. In his four seasons after being a first round draft selection of the Packers in the 2012 NFL Draft, Perry has totaled 12.5 sacks over four seasons. That understates what he is able to do on the field though, as having him on the team as depth at the outside linebacker position is what has allowed them to be able to put Clay Matthews on the outside and rush the passer with Perry and Julius Peppers. Perry is a guy that they should make a priority to bring back to keep the depth at defense strong again this off-season.
B.J. Raji
He'll probably never be the same player that got 6.5 sacks in his second season clear back in 2010, but in the 3-4 defense you have to find a way to make pressure up the middle, and with both Raji and fellow Packer Letroy Guion being up as free agents this year, they at least need to ensure that they can retain the abilities of one of them. Raji is the drafted and developed talent into Green Bay and it simply is an expectation that if he isn't going to ask for too much, that they will try to keep him around. How much can someone who had 0.5 sacks this season ask for in free agency? Probably not a lot, but he did get 22 tackles this season and two pass breakups, and he'll be remembered as a Packer forever for his interception returned for a touchdown against Caleb Hanie in the 2011 NFC Championship Game. So perhaps a little too much nostalgia from yours truly, but Raji is a great nose tackle and it would be wonderful to have the big guy in the middle again.
Looking through the potential free agents, those are the three most important to this writer. Are there others that they can and will probably bring back that would be nice? That would be wonderful, but when it comes to the nitty gritty, these three players are more of the core of the group.