Cole, Canty may end up elsewhere
One of the reasons the Green Bay Packers are $30 million under the salary cap is that they refuse to set the market in free agency and prefer to let the market establish itself.
It means that sometimes the object of the Packers' desire is at the bank cashing a check from somebody else before they even have their checkbook out of their pocket. But that strategy has kept them from overpaying players.
The Packers very well could be left in the dust again this year with their own free agent, Colin Cole, and someone else's, Dallas' Chris Canty. Both free agents appear to have at least two suitors with as much or more interest than Green Bay, and it will be up to the Packers to decide whether they want to get into a bidding exercise.
In the case of Cole, it remains to be seen if the defensive tackle's agent, Neil Cornrich, will freeze out the Packers in favor of two potential suitors. An NFL source said Friday night that Seattle was one of the teams, and the St. Petersburg Times reported that Tampa Bay was the other.
Cole was in Seattle on Saturday, a day ahead of Canty, who visited the New York Giants on Saturday and was scheduled to fly to Seattle on Sunday. It's possible the Seahawks will choose between Cole and Canty.
The St. Petersburg Times reported the Buccaneers were close to a deal with Cole, but nothing had been announced as of Saturday night. The Packers negotiated with Cole leading up to the start of free agency Friday, but they were unwilling to meet his demands.
If he were to sign with Tampa Bay, Cole would be reunited with former Packers defensive coordinator Jim Bates and defensive line coach Robert Nunn, who hold similar positions with the Buccaneers. Cole is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
It is a priority for the Packers to re-sign Cole because he will help in the transition to the 3-4 defense. He can play both nose tackle and end and would give the team some insurance in case it's unable to address front-seven needs in the draft.
Regardless of whether it can sign Cole, Green Bay would like to add Canty, a 6-foot-7, 305-pound end .
Canty is following through Sunday on his visit with the New York Giants, even though the team signed former Seahawks defensive tackle Rocky Bernard on Saturday night. He will then board a plane to meet with the Seahawks. Blank said he gave the Packers the opportunity to jump ahead of the Seahawks on Canty's tour schedule, but the Packers wouldn't commit to any contract numbers.
Blank expects to speak to general manager Ted Thompson on Sunday, and a visit to Green Bay could be set up at that time. Thompson has been informed of Canty's preferred contract numbers and, while not thrilled with them, has not dismissed them.
If the Packers are aced out of both players, they're going to be seriously undermanned on the defensive line. The only starting-caliber players who can fill the end spots are Cullen Jenkins, Johnny Jolly and Justin Harrell, and Jenkins and Harrell are both coming off major injuries.
Another 3-4 defensive end, Arizona's Antonio Smith, came off the market Saturday when he agreed to terms with Houston. There aren't a lot of options after that. San Diego's Igor Olshansky, Washington's Phillip Daniels and Pittsburgh's Orpheus Roye are stop-gap players.
Most of the other ends are too small to play in the 3-4.