Based on the signing of Charles Woodson alone, Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompsons track record in the unrestricted free agent market has been wildly successful.
Thompson was the only NFL personnel executive willing to offer Woodson a lucrative contract in 2006, and the shrewd move was akin to winning the lottery. Woodson, who is in contention for NFL defensive player of the year honors, has been a playmaking machine in the Packers secondary and instrumental in turning the defense into one of the best in the league.
With that kind of success, some wish Thompson took a more active role in landing unrestricted free agents. He also signed starting nose tackle Ryan Pickett in 2006 and all-purpose linebacker Brandon Chillar in 2008, two key cogs in Dom Capers 3-4 defense.
But Thompson has been reluctant to throw money around at high-priced free agents. In most cases he would rather pay to keep his own free agents than spend money on someone elses overpriced talent.
The trick is knowing when to hang on to free agents and when to cut the rope. Thompson has had mixed success in that department and will be put to the test this offseason when he must decide what to do with unrestricted free agents Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Aaron Kampman and Pickett.
Thompson already made the bold stroke this past week of re-signing Chillar to a long-term deal, even though he isnt a full-time starter but was set to become a free agent.
Thompson identifies a players value based on his age, skill level and team need, among other factors.
Sometimes he severs ties with longtime veterans, as he smartly did with Marco Rivera and Mike Flanagan. Sometimes the market determines a players fate, such as when the Houston Texans paid a kings ransom for Ahman Green three years ago.
Sometimes Thompson doesnt wait around until a player hits the open market and locks him up in advance, like he did with Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Nick Barnett, to name a few recent examples.
And then there are times when Thompson lets a talented player get away and lives to regret it, even if he wont admit it.
Allowing Ryan Longwell to walk away following the 2005 season was a mistake. Thompson didnt want to pay the going rate for a top-flight place-kicker and as a result has been forced to settle for mediocrity. While Longwell has converted 87 percent of his field goals since joining the Minnesota Vikings, Packers place-kickers have made just 77 percent of their kicks.
Thats a major discrepancy, even when factoring in Longwells advantage of kicking inside the climate-controlled Metrodome. He has converted 9 of 14 kicks from 50 yards and beyond during his Vikings career, including 8 for 8 over the past two seasons. Packers kickers, meanwhile, have been successful on 8 of 19 field goals from 50-plus yards since Longwell departed.
The Vikings gave Longwell a five-year, $10 million contract, which was money well spent. The Packers can carp about Longwells short kickoffs or habit of blaming others for his rare misses, but the fact is, he was the best kicker in franchise history and Thompson shouldnt have let him go.
The same can be said for safety Darren Sharper, who technically wasnt an unrestricted free agent and was cut by the Packers following the 2004 season pushing age 30 when he refused to take a pay cut. In retrospect, Thompson should have found a way to keep him but incorrectly assessed that Sharper was on the decline.
Here we are five years later and Sharper is still going strong. He is second in the NFL in interceptions with eight as a starter for the unbeaten New Orleans Saints. Prior to that he earned two Pro Bowl berths with the Vikings.
The Packers have their own Pro Bowl safety in Nick Collins, but that doesnt discount the fact Sharper would have been a valuable part of the defense during Collins developing years.
The point here is not to rehash Thompsons long-ago miscalculations, because it happens to every general manager, whether in the draft or free agency. The key question is, will Thompson learn from those mistakes in dealing with current free agents?
Thompson tends to replenish his roster with younger talent, which is generally a wise principle. However, Longwell and Sharper are living, breathing examples of players in their 30s performing at a high level.
Thompson needs to remember that before he writes off 30-something players like Clifton, Tauscher and Pickett. Going with younger, cheaper players is fine, as long as there isnt a dropoff in production.