Extending Randall Cobb Must Be a Matter of When, Not If, for Green Bay Packers

The burning question surrounding a contract extension between the Green Bay Packers and receiver Randall Cobb should not be if, but when. 

In fact, the answer to "when" could be arriving relatively soon, as the realistic window for a deal might now be ajar. Packers general manager Ted Thompson has completed extensions with players similar to Cobb during this time period in the past. 

Unless Cobb is dead set on testing the market, there should be little to no concern regarding Green Bay's internal desire to complete an extension before he hits unrestricted free agency this coming March. The former second-round pick is young. He is productive and versatile. He is homegrown. He is respected inside the locker room.

And he also has the unflinching support of his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. 

Asked on his weekly radio program with ESPN Milwaukee's Jason Wilde if Cobb was important to bring back next season, Rodgers responded "yes" without hesitation. And he had no shortage of reasons why. 

"He's a great player for us," Rodgers said. "He does it all, he's a talented guy. And to top it off, he's a great teammate. He's an excellent practice player. He's a great leader. He has some timely things to say. He's great at motivating the guys. He does a great job of bringing the same attitude every single day."

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The quarterback in Green Bay is not the general manager, as Brett Favre can attest. But Rodgers' affinity for Cobb, who possesses all the traits inherently expected out of a contract extension candidate in Green Bay, should be the icing on the cake for keeping him in Green Bay long term. 

The Packers may let the season play out before negotiating a deal, but Thompson hasn't been against extending contracts for deserving players late in the season.

In late November of 2010, Thompson gave cornerback Tramon Williams a lucrative deal at the back end of a breakout season. Roughly a month later, he locked up emerging inside linebacker Desmond Bishop as the Packers were preparing to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. 

While obviously not a completely parallel scenario, Thompson did re-sign cornerback Sam Shields before the official start of free agency last spring. The deal came two days before he was to become an unrestricted free agent. 

There's simply no rational reason for the Packers to even explore letting Cobb hit the market. 

Thompson has let receivers venture into free agency in the past, namely Greg Jennings and James Jones. But Jennings was 29 years old when he left Green Bay to sign with the Minnesota Vikings in March of 2013, and Jones was just a few weeks from turning 30 when he inked a deal with the Oakland Raiders last March. 

Cobb, on the other hand, won't turn 25 until late August of next year. He's still only 24 despite already playing four seasons in the NFL. While Jennings and Jones were descending from their respective athletic peaks, Cobb is still ascending his. 

Young players who produce in the Packers system stick around. And Cobb—despite a stretch of time missed to injury last season—has certainly been productive. 

Over 14 games this season, Cobb has 76 catches for 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns. His receiving yards and touchdowns both represent new career highs.

At his current pace, Cobb will finish with 87 catches, 1,230 yards and 11 touchdowns—totals that would put him in rare territory in Packers franchise history. Only five receivers—Sterling Sharpe, Robert Brooks, Javon Walker, Jordy Nelson and Antonio Freeman—have ever completed a season in Green Bay with at least 80 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

	Total (14 games)	Franchise Rank
Receptions	76	18th
Receiving Yards	1,076	27th
Receiving TDs	10	19th (tied)

More advanced numbers ensure that his volume statistics aren't lying. 

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Cobb leads the NFL in yards per route run from the slot (1.98) and quarterback-receiver passer rating (131.6). Yards per route run sheds a bright light on individual efficiency while quarterback-receiver passer rating neatly describes how in sync a passing combination really is. 

Rodgers and Cobb are almost always on the same page. The two are borderline unfair in the scramble drill, and Rodgers has just one interception when targeting Cobb in 2014. It came on a poor throw last Sunday in Buffalo. 

Cobb's production this season has been as consistent as it's been impressive. He has just one game with under 50 yards receiving and no touchdowns (at Detroit) and only two other games in which he was held under 80 yards without a score (at Minnesota, vs. Atlanta).

His breakout season didn't come as a surprise. It was merely delayed by injury. Cobb caught 31 passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns over six games in 2013, which—over a 16-game sample size—extrapolates out to 83 catches, 1,154 yards and 11 touchdowns. A lower leg injury cost him 10 games, but he's essentially picked up right where he left off last season. 

Cobb's rare versatility in the Packers offense is another strong selling point. 

NFL Game Rewind

Head coach Mike McCarthy has slowly developed Cobb's "Cobra" package, which aligns him in the backfield alongside Rodgers, usually in the shotgun. Over the last three seasons, Cobb has rushed 23 times for 241 yards from the look. It's a favorable set to run out of because defenses are often forced to bring an extra cornerback into the game, giving Green Bay an obvious size and numbers advantage at the line of scrimmage. And Cobb has proved capable of reading open holes as a running back. 

However, Cobb also doubles as an impossible receiving matchup out of the backfield. The New England Patriots had no answer for the clever wrinkle this season, and the Packers went back to the well this past Sunday to finally jolt the offense back to life against the Bills.

Again, it goes back to matchups; if the defense does not task a cornerback with covering Cobb, the Packers can often find easy ways to expose an overmatched linebacker. 

Letting loose a unique, productive player like Cobb—who was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2011 draft—would go against everything Thompson stands for as a roster builder. 

The Packers ventured into free agency to sign Julius Peppers this past offseason, but Green Bay is still the NFL's premier model for draft-and-develop. The core of the roster was handpicked by Thompson and developed by McCarthy's staff. Pieces like Cobb can't be lost when operating such a precise method. And to be fair, Thompson has been as good as any general manager in football at rewarding his drafted and developed core players with second contracts. 

The Packers also need not worry about paying a "diva" receiver. Cobb is the antithesis of a diva. Rodgers spoke glowingly about his respect for Cobb as a teammate. And not surprisingly, Cobb was selected as a team captain when the Packers voted on the titles this past week, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. 

A substantial sum of money will be required to keep Cobb in Green Bay. He has solidly positioned himself into the $7-8 million range annually, and his guaranteed money will match or likely exceed the $11.5 million given to Nelson this past summer. Cobb has earned the payday he's about to receive. 

Yet year after year, the Packers maintain one of the most efficient payrolls in the NFL. The salary cap is an obstacle in every deal, and other free agents will need tending to this coming spring, but Thompson and vice president of player finance Russ Ball have the money to get a deal done with Cobb right now. The club operates so players like Cobb can be retained. 

Without much doubt, Cobb has increased his league-wide value. He's currently the premier slot receiver in the game and is still an ascending player. 

If Cobb was a different kind of player or the Packers a different franchise, maybe a scenario would exist where he hits the open market and cashes in elsewhere. That's just not the case here. 

Cobb embodies everything the Packers want in an employee, and Ted Thompson doesn't let those kind of assets get away. A contract extension is coming. If should be no issue. When the ink finally gets to paper is the final hurdle. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2