Steven Jackson

As you might have heard, Hurricane Sandy has forced the NFL to close its New York City offices and, for now, push back the its trade deadline to Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. That gives us more time to speculate on whether the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] will pursue [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] running back [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], as ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported they might on Sunday.

As we've discussed, the Packers' running game has slipped considerably since [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] injured his foot last month. Benson's return is at least a month or more away, and according to Mortensen, Packers general manager Ted Thompson has long coveted Jackson and attempted to acquire him before.

Jackson, 29, is due more than $3 million for the rest of the season and can become a free agent after this season.

There's a big difference between coveting a player and pulling the trigger on a deal to acquire him. Now we've got a few more days to determine if Thompson is willing to bridge that chasm. History suggests he will not, but Thompson has [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in building the 2012 team.

Should the rumor actually be true and Thompson HAS made some inquiries regarding Jackson that would lead me to think Cedric Benson, despite having the chance to come off IR week 13, shouldn't be counted on at all going forward.

Lot of ifs, ands, and buts there, but if TT really thought Ced was coming back we know from past experience (see: Starks in '10) he's got the patience (stupidity?) for that to play out.

but Thompson has [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in building the 2012 team.

The man is starting to mature even if he has had white hair for a century. If Benson gets back he may be too rusty to start late in the season and by the time he can go we may not be playing any more. I was hoping he'd go after Chris Johnson but his stock has gone way up recently.

The economical move would be to go after Ryan Grant. You can get him at a bargain price now along with the fact that he knows our system and playbook. If Starks does not emerge then someone else must. MM loves Alex Green. Funny, he never loved Ahman Green. TT can unload whoever he wants at the end of the season and draft accordingly next spring.