Jared Cook signs 1-year deal with Packers

The Green Bay Packers announced Monday that they signed tight end Jared Cook. The Los Angeles Rams recently released Cook after three disappointing seasons.

The deal is for one year, worth up to $3.6 million depending on incentives, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Cook has been a perpetual underachiever since the Tennessee Titans drafted him in the third round in 2009. He played out his rookie contract in Tennessee, with his best season coming in 2011, when he had 49 catches for 759 yards and three touchdowns.

Despite the middling numbers, the Rams bet big on Cook's potential upside, inking him to a five-year deal worth $35.11 million in 2013. Cook never quite lived up to that contract, struggling with drops and disappearing for long stretches at a time. He was a non-factor in 2015, recording just 39 catches for 481 yards and failing to score a touchdown. The Rams cut him with two years left on his deal, clearing about $5.7 million of cap space.

Cook has imposing size (6'5, 254 pounds) and good speed for the tight end position, but he has yet to put it all together. Now going on 29 years old, it's fair to wonder if he'll ever reach his ceiling. Aaron Rodgers could be the man to get him there, though.

Since Jermichael Finley suffered a neck injury in 2013, the Packers haven't had much consistency or production at the position. While Richard Rodgers finished with 58 receptions for 510 yards and eight touchdowns, he doesn't offer the athleticism and big-play ability that Finley did or that Cook does.

* * *

Building Top Teams: How Ted Thompson and other good GMs beat the system

Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more