Now that Ted Thompson is at the pinnacle of his profession, it would be a fun time to look back at the worst moves he’s made during his tenure as Packers’ GM. Every GM makes mistakes. Thompson makes fewer than most, but he’s not perfect. This is my own list, and everyone has their own opinion, of course. In putting the list together, I've included only those decisions that were highly questionable at the time, rather than those that were reasonable but did not work out. It is notable that all of these bad moves were made during Thompson’s first four seasons with the Packers. He seems to learn from his mistakes. Having said that, please join me now for this trip down memory lane!
1. Drafting Justin Harrell (2007)—Many people thought Thompson reached to pick Harrell at #16 overall. They were right. Harrell was recovering from a major injury at the time, and his career with the Packers consisted of one major injury after another. He was a bust. (Remarkably, though, he was the only bad first round pick Thompson has made to this point.)
2. Cutting Jon Ryan and bringing in Derrick Frost (2008)—Jon Ryan was a decent punter whose career was on its way up, but apparently not fast enough for Thompson. At the end of training camp, Ryan was surprisingly cut, and Derrick Frost, who had failed with the Washington Redskins, was brought in to take his place. Frost wasted no time proving to be one of the worst punters in the league—exactly what he was with the Redskins—and he did not finish the season. Ryan, meanwhile, enjoyed the best season of his career punting for the Seattle Seahawks.
3. Signing Marquand Manuel (2006)—Remember this guy? He had been a member of the Seahawks when Thompson was there, and Thompson thought highly enough of him to sign him to a five-year, $10 million contract so he could start at safety for the Packers. He was a hard hitter, but unfortunately he was slower than molasses and was exploited regularly in coverage by opposing offenses. Manuel was one of the worst starting players of the Thompson era. He was released at the end of training camp the following year.
4. Lowballing Bubba Franks (2005)—When Bubba Franks’ contract expired, Thompson retained him with the transition tag, but Franks refused to sign the contract. When the preseason began, it became painfully obvious that there was no other TE on the roster who had anything approaching Franks’ rather modest talents, so eventually Thompson gave him what he wanted. It was a rare example of Thompson trying to bargain from a position of weakness.
5. Lowballing Ryan Grant (2008)—Did I say that Ted Thompson learns from his mistakes? Well, this is the exception because the situation was very similar to the Bubba Franks scenario from a few years before, and Thompson played it the same way and once again lost. Like Franks, Grant was a solid though not spectacular player who was not in a position to command a huge salary. Also like Franks, Grant was not under contract and could simply refuse to play, which is exactly what he did. The Packers had no other viable option at running back, and with the Brett Favre controversy near its high point, Grant was quietly signed, with Thompson pretty much giving him the contract he wanted in the first place. The layoff from training camp may have had something to do with Grant pulling a hamstring, which never fully healed that year, leading to a subpar season.
6. Drafting Brian Brohm (2008)—With Aaron Rodgers ready to take over as the starting QB, it was a surprise when Ted Thompson drafted Brohm in the second round. Although Brohm had fallen farther than many expected him to, the Packers were not considered to be in the running for him. Perhaps Ted Thompson was trying a little TOO hard to bury Brett Favre, who had retired a few weeks before. Brohm, like Justin Harrell, was a total bust. In his first training camp, he was quickly beaten out for the backup QB spot by seventh round pick Matt Flynn. At the end of his second training camp, he was waived and placed on the practice squad. He was later acquired by the Buffalo Bills, for whom he played sparingly and disastrously for two seasons. He now plays for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.
7. Signing Adrian Klemm and Matt O’Dwyer (2005)—It was clearly a move for the future when Thompson let guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera walk away in free agency. Unfortunately, Thompson was not able to find competent replacements. O’Dwyer was an old, injury-prone player who didn’t even make it through training camp. Klemm was a young, injury-prone player who at least made it through the season, but he was a big disappointment. Thankfully, once Thompson had been with the team a few years, he was able to build some depth into the roster so he no longer had to make embarrassing mistakes on veterans like Klemm and O’Dwyer.