Packers Release QB Graham Harrell After Three Seasons

QB Graham Harrell

Shortly after another tepid performance in Friday's preseason contest versus Seattle, and after being out-shined by newcomer Vince Young, QB Graham Harrell finds himself a free agent on the street, freshly cut from mane of the Packers roster. Harrell had been with the team for three seasons. An undrafted player out of Texas Tech,  he set innumerable school passing records and just generally chucked it all day long. The team had high hopes for harnessing his obvious intelligence and improving his physical tools. They liked him enough to let backup Matt Flynn go before the 2012 season, essentially handing Harrell the backup job. But Harrell's body of work since then has been unflattering at best. Aside from his only in-season snap last year resulting in a goal-line fumble, Harrell has generally looked like a deer in headlights, never mastering the calm cool needed to be proficient at the NFL level. His inability to show poise in the face of game-speed, and the anxiety with which he routinely overthrew receivers, left the team with no choice but to cut him. Fans have been calling for Harrell's ouster for weeks, and the relief, justified or not, has been palpable—Like a stubborn scab finally excised.

There is now an opening at backup quarterback. In Vince Young and BJ Coleman, the Packers have two QB's with immense physical talents, but with similar track records of poor decision making. The job is each of theirs to lose, and the final preseason contest against Kansas City will be a telling job interview for both.

Packers Would Be Foolish Not To Pursue Carpenter

The Miami Dolphins announced the termination of kicker Dan Carpenter's contract this week. The move clears $2.7 Million from Miami's salary cap and clears the way for the installation of  rookie kicker, Caleb Sturgis. 

Meanwhile in Green Bay: Much has been made of Green Bay's kicking competition between veteran Mason Crosby and newcomer Giorgio Tavecchio. While Crosby's woes continue, Tavecchio has positioned himself well as a dead-nuts-accurate field goal kicker. His leg strength has been called into question, however. His kickoffs have been inconsistent, many failing to reach the 5-yard line. His kickoff power has no doubt improved since the start of camp, but having punter Tim Masthay also practicing kickoffs doesn't bode well for the team's faith in Giorgio's power. 

K Dan Carpenter is on the market.

Enter: Dan Carpenter. The six-year man has a career field goal percentage of 81.9%, and is four years removed from a career high 89.3% in 2009. 

Mason Crosby, by contrast, was good a league-worst 63.6% of the time last season, bringing his career average down to 76.8%. The nuances of kicking may be plentiful, but kickers are ultimately signed and cut based on this lone metric, and Crosby is trending in the wrong direction.

Carpenter, who is taking a brief leave to see his wife through the delivery of their new baby, has several kicker-needy teams already waiting in the wings, the Browns and Seahawks likely among them. The Packers would be foolish not to buy a ticket the Carpenter lottery.