Pro Football Grapevine

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From the Green Bay Post-Gazette….

If General Manager Ted Thompson likes what he sees in Aaron Rodgers over the coming weeks, he’s in excellent salary-cap shape to sign the quarterback to a long-term contract without hurting the Green Bay Packers’ future caps.
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The Packers, according to a source with access to NFL Players Association salary figures, are more than $20 million under this year’s $116 million salary cap and will want to use a good chunk of that money to extend the contracts of two or three core players.

Rodgers, whose contract runs through 2009, will rank high on Thompson’s list if he can sustain a stretch of play anywhere near the level he showed in the Packers’ regular-season opening win against Minnesota. Rodgers along with receiver Greg Jennings and right tackle Mark Tauscher are the most likely targets for extensions, though Thompson also could go after another young player or two who emerges over the course of the season.

Rodgers, though, would be the biggest and most costly target. If the Packers approach him about an extension this season, he probably would seek a contract in the neighborhood of deals Dallas’ Tony Romo and Jacksonville’s David Garrard signed in the last year.

That would be in the neighborhood of 60 million with 15-20 million guaranteed.  Not bad for a guy that almost did not have a starting gig.