GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In his first three seasons, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings has developed into one of the best players at his position in the NFL.
After recording five catches for 101 yards in Green Bay's 31-21 victory Sunday over the Detroit Lions , the former Western Michigan star finished with 80 receptions for 1,292 yards and nine touchdowns, ranking among the league leaders in each category.
With numbers like that and his penchant for making big plays, that can only mean one thing for Jennings as he enters the final season of the four-year, $2.85 million contract: He is going to be a rich man.
He could sign a contract extension with Green Bay sometime next year or become a free agent in 2010, when the NFL's 32 teams might operate without a salary cap.
So does Jennings have an inkling what might transpire regarding his contract?
"I don't know, but I am optimistic," Jennings said of signing an extension. "I don't know if I really want to test (free agency). I'll let it play out and whatever happens happens.
"I definitely would love for something to happen (to stay in Green Bay), but again I'm not stressing the issue. I still have one year obviously on my contract, and if I need to play it out, I'll play it out. Hopefully, they've seen some things in my growth and they'll reward me."
Jennings now is focused on the Pro Bowl on Feb. 8 in Honolulu. He was voted as a first alternate to the NFC squad earlier this month.
"I'm going to make some phone calls -- three of them," Jennings said. "I'm going to leave (Atlanta's) Roddy White alone since this will be his first one. But (Carolina's) Steve Smith, (Arizona's) Anquan Boldin and (Arizona's) Larry Fitzgerald will all be getting a phone call because they've all appeared in Hawaii before, and I have not."
When asked if his 2008 individual performance went about as well as he could have expected, Jennings said "no" and instead gave himself a harsh critique.
"When you look back on a season like this and you kind of recap, like I'll get a DVD of all the routes that I've run, all the plays that I've made and all the potential plays that could have been made and you see so many missed opportunities," he said, noting the three drops he made Sunday of well-thrown Aaron Rodgers' passes.
"I already know there's a plethora of opportunities that were out there that I didn't take advantage of. Anytime you have more opportunities than you really should that you don't take advantage of, in my eyes it's not accomplishing what I set out to accomplish."
