Packers coach praises Jermichael Finley, "almost certainly" will be back with team next season

Packers tight end Jermichael Finley could be back with the team next season. (Andy King/Getty Images)

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy praised tight end Jermichael Finley in his season-ending press conference on Wednesday, leading some to believe that Finley will be back with the team next season, reports the Green Bay Press Gazette.

The paper said that McCarthy's endorsement means it "almost certainly means the tight end will be back next season."

Finley, 25, is signed through next season at $4.45 million but is due a $3.5 million roster bonus in March. Finley caught 61 passes for 667 yards and two touchdowns this season. Finley had six drops in the first six games in 2012 finishing the season with nine and did not drop a pass in his final six games.

"I really felt Jermichael Finley was a different man, a different player from the bye week on,” McCarthy said. “I had an opportunity to talk to him about that at length in his exit interview, so I feel very good about the way he finished the year. He did some good things Saturday night (at San Francisco). There was a change in that young man."