There are a few thoughts that go through my mind as I read this, tied to what I read from Patty over at PC...
Firstly, right off the bat: Merriman wants a new contract. Ted's mode of operation has been to wait a year before making long-term commitments to players coming off major injuries. See Taush and Kampy (who he offered 1 year deal to this off-season) for examples.
Second is salary cap. Packers are operating with an internal imposition of a salary cap. He's spent a boat load of money this off-season, and I wonder if there is any piece of the pie for a guy like Merriman. I doubt it.
Now, as part of the bigger picture: the tweets suggest rumors of the Packers trading for Merriman.
Take into account what Patty has been hearing - going as far as to say herself couple of days ago that Marshawn Lynch will be a Packer through trade - and add it to the rumour appearing yesterday the Packers have expressed passing interest in looking at Pacman Jones.... and all this just seems so Anti-Ted to me.
Ted shies away from big-names wanting big money. He shies away (minus Koren Robinson) from players with shady off-field conduct. He shies away from big names, rather working to scour the wavier wire and UDFA pool to get players with some (potential) use down the line.
Going back to the moment Ted was hired, note that his first year here, his former team in the Seahawks were playing in the Superbowl. The criticism that emerged was that Ted - with an emphasis on internal development - did not have the mentality to produce a Superbowl team. In other words, the moves the Seahawks made in their Superbowl year were seen as not having been likely were Ted in charge of things.
This off-season, it is obvious that Ted and many others feel this is a legit Superbowl contender. Heck, Reggie McKenzie said after the playoff loss that this team was very close, not far off from winning it all.
So what am I getting at? I think the Ted we have come to know - the one who led me to conclude that Merriman rumour is nothing substantive - is one who may have changed his modus operendi. We're close. Ted has never been solely at the helm of a team this close. I'm not sure anyone can say with any sureness what Ted will or will not do.
I will say this though: there has been an awful lot of smoke, so to speak, coming from the Packers side as to a very uncharacteristic-Ted move being made. The smoke seems to become bigger and bigger each passing day. Where there is smoke, there is fire; each passing day I begin to think
some unusual move is going to be made. Landing Merriman seems improbable, but based on the reports emerging, I'm not willing to relegate it to the realm of the impossible.
The NFL: Where Greg Jennings Happens.