Packers Gamble with Second-Round Tender on Tonyan

Will that be enough to scare away suitors interested in one of the most productive tight ends in the NFL in 2020?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers placed the second-round tender on restricted free agent tight end Robert Tonyan, a source told Packer Central on Tuesday.

It was an expensive decision, especially for a team with a stressed salary cap. But will it be expensive enough to retain the budding playmaker?

There were three tender levels available. The first-round tender is $4.766 million, the second-round tender is $3.384 million and the right-of-first-refusal tender is $2.133 million. In all instances, tendering a restricted free agent allows the team to match any offers to retain the player. The difference, other than dollars, is what the team gets in compensation should it not match an offer. The first-round tender would allow the team to recoup a first-round pick from the signing team. The second-round tender means a second-round pick. The right-of-first-refusal tender, however, comes with no compensation because Tonyan entered the league as an undrafted free agent.

RELATED: PACKERS TENDER CHANDON SULLIVAN, TOO

With the Packers making a super-aggressive move to re-sign Aaron Jones and needing to get beneath the salary cap by 3 p.m. Wednesday, the danger is a team could offer a front-loaded deal that Green Bay can’t afford to match. Shortly after the negotiating period began on Monday, the New England Patriots struck a deal with former Tennessee Titans tight end Jonnu Smith that’s for four years and $50 million.

If Smith is worth $12.5 million per year, Tonyan must be worth more than the second-round tender amount.

Moreover, tight end is considered one of the weakest positions in this year’s draft class, so there is tremendous value in a proven commodity like Tonyan.

Then again, perhaps general manager Brian Gutekunst would happily taken an additional second-round pick in this year's draft and roll the dice that former third-round selections Jace Sternberger, a disappointment in his first two seasons, and Josiah Deguara, coming off a torn ACL, can pick up the slack.

After showing bits and pieces of his potential in 2018 and 2019, Tonyan was a breakout star this year with 52 receptions for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns. Of the 34 tight ends who were targeted at least 40 times in the passing game, Tonyan was No. 1 in catch percentage (89.7), drop percentage (0.0) and passer rating (148.3), according to Pro Football Focus. In the bizarro world that is Pro Bowl voting, he lost out to the Giants’ Evan Engram, who had more receptions (63) and yards (654) but lagged far behind in touchdowns (one), catch percentage (61.8), drop percentage (11.3) and passer rating (59.8). He tied All-Pro Travis Kelce for the NFL lead among tight ends with those 11 touchdown receptions.

“His ability to get down the field and separate and catch the ball, he was pretty good last year,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said recently. “Whenever you have a red-zone threat like that, it's huge. The more people you have that are a threat down there, the more the defense has to cover. He's an integral part in the things that we did last year.”

Tonyan’s production is one part chemistry and one part talent. His bond with quarterback Aaron Rodgers started in 2017, when Tonyan was new to the practice squad and Rodgers was on the comeback trail from a broken collarbone.

“If you can’t imagine it, you can’t live it. If you don’t visualize it, you’re not going to get it,” Tonyan said late in the season. “And making those plays and having the guys around me in this locker room has been unreal. The support system I have with Marcedes and JO [position coach Justin Outten] and the tight end room letting me be me, and then having Davante (Adams), Allen (Lazard), MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) having my back on the field and just at practice, hyping me up and telling me to go be myself, as well, and then, obviously, having Aaron isn’t all so bad, either.”

Meanwhile, veteran Marcedes Lewis took Tonyan under his wing to help the former college quarterback and receiver learn the finer points of tight end play.

“Just his ability to want to be great,” Lewis said at the end of the season. “He asked all the right questions, he’s a student of the game, he gets it, he has grit, he works hard. He reminds me a lot of myself when I first came into the league. I was drafted first round, so, obviously, it was a little different in my circumstances. But having that experience that I have, it’s about giving it back, and he’s the perfect guy for that.”