Christine Michael Contract Confirms Green Bay Packers Rumors, No Adrian Peterson

Christine Michael’s contract leads the Green Bay Packers rumors for Wednesday (March 22). Michael re-signs with the Packers, giving the team a running back who could help the team in the 2017 NFL season. While this doesn’t completely address the hole on the Packers’ roster left by Eddie Lacy signing with the Seattle Seahawks, it does give the team a bit more depth before adding pieces during the 2017 NFL Draft.

A report by NFL analyst Field Yates of ESPN confirms that the new Christine Michael contract is for one season and it came after a good meeting with the front office of the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday. This gives the Packers two active players at running back, with Ty Montgomery penciled in as the starter and Michael now listed as the primary backup. The team has high hopes for Montgomery, possibly leading to the team not signing anyone else in free agency (yet).

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Packers have also been linked to several top-tier running backs in recent NFL rumors. That includes Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings and Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs. Both running backs would have been seen as a replacement for Lacy, possibly even as upgrades over his slumping performance on the field. It’s possible that the Packers are still in pursuit of these guys, or that the team has a singular focus on drafting a running back this year.

The dollar figure attached to this new Christine Michael contract hasn’t been revealed yet, with that news expected to come from the team a bit later this week. In that regard, these Green Bay Packers rumors haven’t been confirmed by the front office yet, but it is also news that is coming in late on a work day. As soon as the news about Michael’s contract breaks, it will be reported here. It should be at or below $1 million for the season, with a strong possibility he makes the veteran’s minimum for 2017.

As a comparison, Michael signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks for the 2016 NFL season, paying him a base salary of $700,000 and a signing bonus of $25,000. The Seahawks ended up cutting him in November when injured running backs on their roster were ready to return. The Packers then picked him up, playing Michael in six games down the stretch.

Christine Michael’s stats for the 2016 NFL season were split between his time with the Seahawks and the Packers. He finished with a total of 583 rushing yards and seven touchdowns over 15 games with the two teams. With just the Packers, Michael had 31 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. He was used in a reserve role for his six games with the Packers, also seeing some postseason action. During three playoff games, Michael rushed 16 times for 58 yards, also returning three kicks for 64 yards.

This isn’t where many NFL analysts thought that Christine Michael would be after he was selected high in the 2013 NFL Draft. Michael was a second-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks out of Texas A&M, presumably giving the team a change-of-pace back behind Marshawn Lynch. It never really worked well, leading to the Seahawks cutting him and the Dallas Cowboys picking him up. The Seahawks would re-sign him the following offseason before he made the stop in Wisconsin last year.

There is still a lot of chatter about the team making more moves this offseason, giving fans a lot of additional Green Bay Packers rumors to work with. The team has a lot of salary cap space to work with, using part of it to sign free agent cornerback Davon House to a one-year deal. The biggest move of the offseason was signing new tight end Martellus Bennett away from the New England Patriots. Now the Christine Michael contract gives the team a backup running back, but the team may still look to add more pieces before and during the NFL Draft in April.

[Featured Image by Stacy Revere/Getty Images]