[img_r]http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/packer/img/news/sep08/sgreg0912.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - At some point soon the Green Bay Packers will start making value judgments on the horde of players headed for free agency after the 2009 season.
Greg Jennings likely will not sign a new deal during this season. Instead he'll look to haul in a big contract after the 2009 campaign when he'll be an unrestricted free agent.
When they do, there probably will be a flurry of contract extensions for the players whom general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy select to be part of the teams core.
Theres a lot of young guys that play right now, guard Daryn Colledge said Friday. We hope they take care of all of us but thats not the reality of the situation. We know the numbers arent in our favor.
The Packers are $20.485 million beneath their adjusted salary cap of $126.160 million, giving them the third-most room in the National Football League.
Their only pressing decision between now and the start of free agency in March involves tackle Mark Tauscher, the only starter among just three players with expiring contracts this year.
Then the Packers will have nine starters and four other key contributors set to become unrestricted free agents in March 2010.
Wide receiver Greg Jennings could break the bank. So might defensive end Aaron Kampman and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Tackle Chad Clifton might still be playing well, too.
Both starting defensive tackles, Johnny Jolly facing a possible league suspension over felony drug possession charges and Ryan Pickett, will be up then. So will the three young swing men from the offensive line: Jason Spitz, Tony Moll and Colledge.
The Packers will have to decide the futures of safety Nick Collins and defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. Cornerback Will Blackmon and linebacker Brandon Chillar are on the list as well.
I saw the amount of guys coming up the year Im up, Pickett said. Im, like, Whoa. Theres going to be a lot of them getting paid. But theres plenty of money in this organization to work those things out.
Thompson wont discuss specifics of contract negotiations. What he has said is the Packers would prefer to spend money re-signing their own.
If you can keep it within your locker room it usually works out good, said linebacker Nick Barnett, who signed a six-year, $34.98 million deal in April 2007. He (Thompson) has been doing a good job managing it. Bringing in players, though not overpaying players that are not producing.
Barnett expects management to re-sign several players in the next few months. Teams have until Dec. 27 to use 2008 cap dollars.
Anybody that has a great stellar year is going to get paid, Barnett said. Because they dont want to put too much in (next) year. For them, the necessities are up front, the D-tackles.
Pickett, I could see them maybe doing something. Jolly will have a hard time because of the trouble hes in right now.
I could see them getting Rodgers done at the end of the season if he plays great. Jennings wont do his deal now. His worth could be a lot more.
Jennings offered this cryptic remark: Some of us already probably have been approached.
The third-year player wouldnt rule out signing an extension in 2008 but indicated that he preferred to wait, gambling on his performance against risk of injury.
In retrospect, youre not really playing for just this team, Jennings said. Youre also playing for the other 31 teams, making sure everybody sees you out there. Its not just the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. Theres 31 other teams.
Hanging over every player and front office in the NFL is the possibility of labor strife. If the two sides dont agree to extend the collective bargaining agreement, 2010 would become an uncapped year and major changes would occur to the free-agent system that has been in place since 1993.
Without an extended agreement, the requirement for unrestricted free agency would jump from four to six years. In that event, players with four and five years would become restricted rather than unrestricted free agents in March 2010.
In other words, if Jennings (four years) and Rodgers (five years) havent signed new deals by 2010, the Packers easily could hold them by issuing one of the two highest restricted tenders.
I dont know how many players are really aware of it, said an executive in finance for an NFL team. Jennings would be a perfect example. Hes thinking, Man, I want to be a UFA and hit the market. But theres going to be a ton of guys getting a $2.5 million RFA tag that wont hit the market at all.
Then the players might go to a lockout. Who knows? If the thing gets shut down, all of a sudden someones played five years in the league and he really hasnt gotten a payday. Thats where the players have incentives to do deals early.
Regarded as one of the have teams monetarily in the NFL, the Packers also have managed their cap wisely over the years.
Adhering to a pay as you go philosophy, the Packers have used favorable cap situations to front-load numerous contracts. Of the 15 players atop their payroll with a contract beyond 2008, six actually have cap salaries that will decrease next year.
Although final calculations are unavailable, the Packers have about $5.8 million in so-called dead money counting against their cap. Probably two-thirds of the teams have more than Green Bay.
Bubba Franks leads the dead money contingent at $2 million, followed by Brett Favre ($1.4 million), Marquand Manuel ($900,000) and Robert Ferguson ($700,000). None of the other departed counts more than $205,000.
Theres little doubt that the Packers will reach late December with considerable cap space. Using dummy incentives and other ploys, the Packers and just about all teams except Cincinnati and Arizona routinely roll over excess cap room to the next year.
Green Bay was able to carry over $9.43 million from 07 to 08, the eighth-highest total in the NFL.
In 09, the salary cap is to increase by no less than $7 million per team.
The majority of guys, if youre here you want to stay here, cornerback Al Harris said. I have a lot of respect for Ted as a businessman. I think hell sign the right people. I dont know what his strategy is but he has a good formula.