GREEN BAY, Wisc. — There has been a shadow stretching over Lambeau Field since Jan. 18, reaching east from Seattle and reminding all of the darkness that has followed the Green Bay Packers’ stunning NFC Championship loss to the Seahawks. It is a shadow Randall Cobb could have escaped.
Even as the Packers stood shell-shocked following a blown 12-point, fourth-quarter Green Bay lead — it was decision time for Cobb.
The end of Green Bay’s season brought with it the end of Cobb’s contract, and with the 1,287-yard, 12-touchdown campaign he produced at wide receiver in 2014, there was no shortage of suitors in the free agent market. There was a well-paying out for him to avoid answering the “could have, should have, would have” questions that have followed that fateful afternoon at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field.
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But in a way, it was that loss that brought the fleet-footed receiver back to the Packers.
After briefly writing down pros and cons for every team pursuing him, his hunger to finish off what the Packers came so close to accomplishing a season ago won out. On March 7, he signed a 4-year, $40-million extension with a team that has all the tools for a Super Bowl run.
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Cobb was drafted in 2011, roughly three months after Green Bay brought another Super Bowl trophy back to a place nicknamed “Titletown.” Now, all he wants is to be a part of the Packers’ legacy that helped give the northeast Wisconsin city its fabled identity.
“That’s what sports are all about,” Cobb said. “I want to win championships. It’s plain and simple. Cut and dry. You don’t play to be average.”
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That mentality and drive is something Cobb has never lacked. Gary Rankin coached Cobb during his junior and senior seasons at Alcoa High School, a time that produced a pair of Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association state championships. For Cobb, those victories gave him four state titles, one for each year of his high school career.
While his versatility as an athlete — he played quarterback, defense and special teams en route to being named the state’s “Mr. Football” — certainly stood out, Rankin said it was his will to succeed that made him such a special player. In fact, Cobb volunteered to give up the quarterback job if it meant helping the team.
“That’s something I will never forget,” Rankin said.
Therefore, it was no surprise to Rankin to see Cobb sign an extension with Green Bay and stay committed to the Packers.
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“He’s a loyal person,” Rankin said. “Everything wasn’t green in his eyes regarding money. He knew he was in a great situation.”
Cobb exhibits his competitiveness in many ways, and it has played a significant part in transforming him from a second-round draft pick into a Pro Bowl player.
On the field, he’ll do just about anything he’s asked. In Mike McCarthy’s offense, he has lined up in the backfield to take a handoff, been used on reverses, run deep routes and quick slants. He’s even returned kicks and punts – and he has been practicing both early this training camp. In 2014, he was 20th in the NFL with 1,436 all-purpose yards, using speed that helped him finish third in the league last season with 24 catches of 20-yards or more.
Cobb is a big-play threat whenever he comes off the sidelines, and is becoming even more dangerous for defenses as he continues to develop a strong rapport with his quarterback, two-time — and reigning — MVP Aaron Rodgers.
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“That certainly wasn’t a con,” he said with a laugh about being able to continue his career with Rodgers.
Cobb remembers a specific play at Detroit’s Ford Field during his second year in the league on Nov. 18, 2012. With the Packers trailing by one right at the 2-minute the warning, he ran a flag route to the corner of the end zone. He was able to find a hole just between the cornerback and safety, into which Rodgers squeezed a pass for a 22-yard touchdown. From then on, Cobb said, the two have had a trust in one another that has made them one of the most potent passing combinations in the NFL.
Since 2012, Cobb has averaged more than 72 yards receiving a game. Despite only playing six games in 2013, he caught two touchdown passes in his return from a fractured fibula to clinch the NFC North title in the last game of the regular season at Chicago. In that game’s waning moments, Cobb saw a hole in the middle of the field and deviated from his assigned route to exploit the opening. Rodgers hit him for the game-winning score.
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He credits the development of that instinct to audible on the fly – and instinct that separates the good professional from the great – by working with some of his older and former teammates, namely Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Charles Woodson. Now onto his second contract, Cobb is looking to assume the teaching mantle.
Cobb minored in leadership at the University of Kentucky, where he was an all-SEC player for the Wildcats. He says the program taught him you can’t just walk into a room and expect to lead, no matter what character traits or past experiences you might have.
“Being a good leader is about understanding your followers and being able to relate to them,” Cobb said.
What Driver and Jennings were to Cobb is what he is now to rookie wide receiver Ty Montgomery, the Packers’ third-round pick from Stanford.
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Whether he’s sitting down with Montgomery and helping him learn the complicated McCarthy offense or just going on a quick lunch together to Chipotle, it’s something that makes the transition process easier for rookies.
“He’s there when you need him, and he’s definitely somebody I look up to,” Montgomery said.
Nobody outside of Green Bay would have blinked if Cobb had elected to chase a more lucrative contract. After all, other star receivers in the league have signed contracts with total money in the $50-$70 million range. Jeremy Maclin, whose career tracks comparably with Cobb’s, signed a five-year $55 million deal with Kansas City this offseason.
But Cobb has spent his entire NFL career in a place called Titletown, pursuing a trophy named after Green Bay’s legendary coach, Vince Lombardi. With an arsenal of all-pro players in green and gold ready for revenge and another Super Bowl push in 2015, his decision, though stressful, was never too difficult to make.
“The game we play, it takes 11 guys,” Cobb said. “It’s the ultimate team game, so I want to be on the best team that puts me in the best situation to be a part of a legacy and a championship.”
And no shadow stands a chance against the shine of the Lombardi Trophy.
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