Contract extension could keep WR Jennings in Green Bay through 2012

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings has a three-year

contract extension, and he didn't have to boycott his team's offseason

program or training camp to get it.
""We didn't feel like there was any need for me to sit out and choose

not to participate,"" Jennings said Wednesday after the Packers

formally announced the deal and wrapped up their three-day mandatory

minicamp. ""That was not the route I wanted to go.""

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reports that the extension could be

worth as much as $31 million if Jennings reaches all the incentives.

Jennings will earn about $16 million in 2009 with his signing bonus

and base salary.

Jennings had been scheduled to receive a $535,000 base salary in 2009,

the final year of the deal he signed as a second-round draft pick from

Western Michigan in 2006. He'll be an unrestricted free agent again

following the 2012 season.

Jennings caught a career-best 80 passes for 1,292 yards and nine

touchdowns last season, and he was an NFC Pro Bowl first alternate

behind Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Carolina's Steve

Smith and Atlanta's Roddy White.

""We're excited for Greg Jennings' future here; there is no doubt,""

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. ""I think Greg is a young man that

has developed here in Green Bay, and I can't say enough about him

personally. I like the way he goes about his business, and he is

definitely well-deserving of this contract.""

Jennings promised the blockbuster deal wouldn't make him complacent

and vowed to take his game to a higher level, acknowledging that

Packers fans likely will expect more from him.

Benchmark deal
 Greg Jennings' contract extension gives Anquan Boldin and Roddy White

a starting point in negotiations with their respective teams, Steve

Wyche writes.
More ... ""My expectations are higher than anybody else's, I guarantee

you that,"" Jennings said. ""Money is not going to change the player

that I am. It probably will change the outlook of fans, thinking that

I should produce more, but I should produce more anyway. So that's not

a concern of mine.

""I'm going to come out here and be the same guy, and if not the same,

I want to be better. And that's me. I like to improve on anything

there is that I do from year to year.""

The Packers still have a large class of soon-to-be unrestricted free

agents, a group that includes eight starters: Pro Bowl safety Nick

Collins, linebacker/defensive end Aaron Kampman, nose tackle Ryan

Pickett, left tackle Chad Clifton, left guard Daryn Colledge,

center/guard Jason Spitz, safety Atari Bigby and defensive end Johnny

Jolly.

Offensive tackle Tony Moll and kick returner Will Blackmon also will

be unrestricted free agents after the 2009 season.

After Jennings reached his deal, Collins said: ""It's about time.

Somebody deserves something.""

""There's a lot of guys coming up on free agency next year,"" said

Collins, who skipped virtually all of the Packers' offseason program

and organized team activity practices but did report for the mandatory

minicamp during his contract dispute with the team. ""I'm just glad

somebody got it. Greg, he's a great guy and he deserves it. Hopefully

things will work out for me.""

Collins hinted that he won't hold out of training camp as he seeks a

new deal, although he wouldn't say definitively.

""I'm not saying I'm not (coming to training camp), put it that way,""

Collins said. ""I'm here now, and I plan to be here for the rest of the

offseason. I'm not going anywhere. My family's here. I'm here now. I'm

not worried about my contract. I can't control that. If things work

out, they work out. If they don't, I'm still here.""