Packers Reportedly Exploring Signing Joe Schobert
According to Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Green Bay Packers are exploring the possibility of signing pending free agent linebacker Joe Schobert. Schobert, coming off his rookie deal with the Cleveland Browns appears to be headed to free agency and perhaps elsewhere. A former Wisconsin Badger, the Packers would effectively be going home for Schobert.
The Packers have their own free agent linebacker to consider in Blake Martinez, who has shown some ability and played well at times for the Packers, but he's simply not as good as Schobert. If they can make the money work with Schobert, they can get another big time player for a defense that has a lot of talent. The risk for the Packers is they can't find a way to get Schobert and then lose Martinez.
Schobert could tie a lot of things together in the Packers defense, providing a proven commodity in the middle behind a stud in Kenny Clark. With the Smiths, Preston and Za'Darius on the outside and a young talented secondary including Jaire Alexander, Kevin King and Darnell Savage, this could bring them one step closer to a return to the Super Bowl.
Whether the Browns come to terms with Schobert or not, he doesn't seem likely to go play in a big market. That's just not who he's been. A pretty quiet guy off the field, he's just preparing to welcome his first child with wife Megan and isn't looking for the lights and attention of a huge market. For that reason in addition to the fact that he was raised in Wisconsin and has family there, the Packers might be a pretty natural transition for Schobert. The Denver Broncos are another team that has been reportedly interested in pursuing Schobert as a free agent dating back to during the season.