World’s Best Preview: For Cobb, loyalty met business

For eight seasons, Randall Cobb would spend rainy days or frigid days working inside a building named for the legendary Don Hutson.

From 2011 through 2018, Cobb caught 470 passes. Had he returned for a ninth season with the Green Bay Packers, he almost certainly would have passed Hutson for fifth place on the franchise’s career receptions list. Who knows, perhaps the history-making 489th career reception would have taken place on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Instead, the Packers let Cobb sign with the Cowboys in free agency, so he’ll be catching passes from Dallas’ Dak Prescott rather than Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.

“I’m a loyal person. I’ve always been a loyal person. That’s just one of my traits,” Cobb said in a story posted on DallasCowboys.com. “Whenever you become part of my circle or part of my life, it’s hard for me to move on. Sometimes you have to. In this game we play, it’s a business. It’s one of the more lucrative businesses in the world, a billion-dollar industry. So whenever you understand the business side of it, you understand the things that go on besides the on-the-field stuff.”

Rodgers and Cobb formed a lasting bond during their time in Green Bay. Rodgers was a groomsman in Cobb’s wedding in 2017, they’ve spent vacations and holidays together, and they still talk once a week.

“It’s different seeing Randall in the blue and white, but still close friends and definitely pulling for success for him for the entire season,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “He’s a fantastic guy. It will be strange to see him. Maybe I’ll get to throw him a couple passes like we did with Jordy (Nelson) last year.”

Cobb’s caught 14 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown through four games. His 16-game pace is 56 receptions for 628 yards and four touchdowns – about on par with Cobb’s production following his massive 2014 season of 91 catches for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns. For Dallas, he’s turned all five of his third-down receptions into first downs.

“We just felt like he was such a good player,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said in a conference call. “Every time we went against him, it seemed like he was making really important, impactful plays in the game. That’s what you saw on tape. His reputation as a guy is off the charts, and just being a professional and someone who’ll embrace any role on your team. We were excited with the opportunity to bring him here and he’s done a fantastic job so far.”

Or, as Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said, “He’d bloodied our nose a few times, including in the playoffs.”

During a conversation at his locker late last season, Cobb said he hoped he’d be back in Green Bay but you got the feeling he knew the door on his return had closed. That monster 2014 season merited a four-year contract worth $40 million. His production never was commensurate with that payday, though. After averaging just 9.9 yards per reception in 2017, Cobb caught only 38 passes in 2018.

“I’m not going to say it did or didn’t (hurt to not be re-signed), because I’m a person, when things happen in my life, I believe they happen for a reason,” Cobb said. “I feel like I’m here for a reason. I’m in Dallas for a reason. What the purpose is exactly, I’m not sure. I think it’s bigger than football, but I am here for a reason. Whenever I was recruited in high school, there were schools that didn’t offer me that I wanted to go to. I only had three offers coming from high school. I could always wonder what if, what if I’d gone to that school? Would things be different? But I knew I went to Kentucky for a reason, and things turned out the way they did.”

The series: Green Bay leads 17-15, including a split of eight playoff games. The Packers have won seven of the last eight, including the 2014 playoffs at Lambeau Field and three trips to AT&T Stadium. In fact, the Packers are 4-0 at the home of the Cowboys, having won Super Bowl XLV vs. Pittsburgh.

“We’ve got to keep the tradition going, man,” outside linebacker Preston Smith said.

Rodgers is 6-2 against Dallas with a 103.5 passer rating.

“It’s different teams and different situations,” he said. “Obviously, one of those games wasn’t against the Cowboys. We’ve had some great games over the years in that building – one I didn’t even play in. We’re down 26-3 at halftime (in 2013) and Flynnie (Matt Flynn) brought us back. That was an epic fourth quarter and a fun celebration in the locker room. Definitely have some good feelings in that building but different opponents and different teams.”

The one that got away: The Packers sprinted to a 10-0 lead last week against Philadelphia before losing 34-27. That marked Rodgers’ first career home loss in a game in which the Packers led by 10-plus points, according to STATS.

Road kill: According to STATS, Rodgers is 3-10 away from home since 2017. That .231 winning percentage is better than only Oakland’s Derek Carr (4-14; .222) and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston (2-10; .167). However, the Packers are 1-0 on the road this season.

“I think any time you go on the road, you realize how special the opportunity is,” Rodgers said. “When I think about that stadium over the years, we’ve had a great green-and-gold presence. It’s been fun to hear the cheers as you leave the field after a win there. We travel really well all over the country but it’s been especially fun the last couple times we’ve played down there to hear our crowd. That’s one thing you love when you’re on the road and, obviously, the postgame celebration after a road win is always better and the plane ride’s better and the food tastes better. We got our first road win in Week 1. Hopefully, we can go down there and get another one.”

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