TheEngineer
15 years ago
Pack may not keep all 13 free agents 

Mobile, Ala. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday at the Pro Bowl in Miami he hoped the team would retain many of its 13 players who will become free agents.

"I hope it's very bright," Rodgers said when asked about the Packers' future. "Our key is going to be (that) we've got to bring back a lot of those same guys we had last year. A lot of guys' contracts are up this year. Thankfully, I'm just paid to play. There are some tough decisions that are going to have to be made this season. As long as we can keep that core group of guys together. I believe in (coach) Mike McCarthy and the direction that he is taking this team."

Rodgers may not get his wish.

According to multiple sources assembled at the Senior Bowl, the Packers' off-season plan doesn't include retaining all of their free agents.

The Packers' top priority is re-signing nose tackle Ryan Pickett, who is one of five Packers set to become unrestricted free agents.

There have been ongoing contract discussions between the Packers and Pickett's agent, Kennard McGuire, for some time. There is hope on both sides that a contract will be reached in the next month, if not the next few weeks.

Beyond Pickett, the Packers haven't entered into contract talks with any of their other free agents.

In the unrestricted category are left tackle Chad Clifton, right tackle Mark Tauscher, linebacker Aaron Kampman and running back Ahman Green.

The restricted free agents are offensive linemen Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz, end Johnny Jolly, cornerback Will Blackmon, safeties Nick Collins, Atari Bigby and Derrick Martin, and fullback John Kuhn.

But once Pickett's deal is done, the Packers will move to retain Clifton, who will be 34 by the time training camp starts. While the Packers will be actively looking for a left tackle in the draft and via trade, Clifton is viewed as a safeguard.

General manager Ted Thompson said this week that T.J. Lang, a fourth-round pick in 2009, can play left tackle and will be given a chance to do so.

"We'll see," Thompson said. "He's got some growing to do."

Of the Packers' other unrestricted free agents, offering Kampman a contract is the only move they are set to do.

Thompson said he thinks Kampman can complete the transition to outside linebacker, that the team wants him back and will make an effort to re-sign Kampman.

When asked if the team will definitely offer Kampman a contract, Thompson said: "I'm sure we will."

Whether that offer comes close to the market value for Kampman or anything more than the June 1 tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights once training camps start remains to be seen.

Kampman is coming back from ACL surgery, and his timetable for returning to the field will factor into when an offer is made.

As for Tauscher, the Packers may make an offer, but it's almost certain to be on the low side.

Thompson said Breno Giacomini, a fifth-round pick in '08 who was active for three games his first two seasons, will be expected to compete for the job.

"Breno's a good player," Thompson said. "You know, as you evolve in the NFL, eventually you're going to have to go out there and sink or swim, and we're going to ask a lot of our guys, and he's going to be one of them."

Rodgers has publicly advocated for Tauscher's re-signing.

According to sources, the Packers will keep Green in mind but wouldn't mind adding a faster back in the draft. Whether it's Green or another player, the Packers want starter Ryan Grant to have someone pushing him. They felt Green did that this past season.

The Packers' most difficult and interesting decisions will be on their restricted free agents.

Collins will almost certainly have the highest tender placed on him - a first- and third-round pick - because they have to offer him 110% of his 2009 salary, which was $3.045 million after an escalator kicked in.

Collins still wants a long-term contract from the Packers.

Two players who could be in for a surprise as far as their tenders go are Colledge and Bigby.

The Packers, according to sources, are discussing whether to make Colledge a second-round tender or none at all. Either way it could lead to problems with Colledge, who feels he is worth more to the team.

Affecting the decision on Colledge is the fact the Packers like Spitz, and he can play left guard. He was a third-round pick, so if they tender him there, there is likely to be fierce competition for Spitz - even though he is coming off back surgery. Teams have inquired about Spitz via trade in the past.

Bigby was a second-round tender a year ago, but after two injury-filled seasons and some lackluster play late in the season, the Packers may withdraw any tender if they find a safety in the draft.

The Packers are likely to tender Jolly at a second-round level. Blackmon (fourth round), Derrick Martin (sixth) and Kuhn (undrafted) will likely receive the lowest tender, which gives the Packers a chance to match any offer.



Quite an interesting article.

It appears that Tauscher and Colledge may be on the way out, and Bigby too.

The line about Green pushing Grant is very telling and it's obvious that once we signed Green, Grant had a fire lit under his ass. I hope we continue with that.

I think one of the other articles think the Packers are targeting RBs and OLBs/DEs in the Senior Bowl at the moment.

Thanks to DGB454 for linking the Bleacher Report article that links to the JSO one.
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go.pack.go.
15 years ago
I don't see how you go from trying to sign Pickett straight to Clifton....I think Nick Collins is a player that we HAVE to sign. He is a PRO BOWL talent EVERY YEAR!!
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Rockmolder
15 years ago
I know that Ted Thompson doesn't give away his off-season gameplan, ever, but the comments about our O-line are somewhat worrisome.

It sounds like he has a lot of trust in Lang playing LT and Breno at RT. If he's confident enough, we won't be picking an OT on day 1 and 2. We'll get a 5th to 7th rounder again. Especially if both Clifton and/or Tauscher will be back.

He didn't say anything about Bigby, which is a good sign. I know, the grass is always greener, but we could do a lot better than Bigby. Especially in coverage. Maybe bring him back cheap now while we draft a safety and have sort of a transition year.

Blackmon and Martin are going to be interesting to see. The Titans took a shot at Bush last year. I wouldn't be surprised if someone gave Martin an offer this year. Blackmon is coming back for a pretty severe injury, but he's a good punt returner. A couple of teams could use him.

I'm just hoping that we won't get poison pilled.
Rockmolder
15 years ago

I don't see how you go from trying to sign Pickett straight to Clifton....I think Nick Collins is a player that we HAVE to sign. He is a PRO BOWL talent EVERY YEAR!!

"go.pack.go." wrote:



But he's a restricted FA. Clifton will be gone if we don't resign him. Collins is going nowhere when he's tendered.

If he does, we get a 1st and a 3rd.

You have to wonder if a team like the Giants would take a shot at that. I mean, there's no question about him being a 1st round talent. Throwing in a 3rd rounder wouldn't hurt too bad, either. Put in a poison pill, something like that he can't play more than 1 game in the state of Wisconsin per year, and they have themselfs a premier safety on a team with few needs.
dfosterf
15 years ago

I don't see how you go from trying to sign Pickett straight to Clifton....I think Nick Collins is a player that we HAVE to sign. He is a PRO BOWL talent EVERY YEAR!!

"Rockmolder" wrote:



But he's a restricted FA. Clifton will be gone if we don't resign him. Collins is going nowhere when he's tendered.

If he does, we get a 1st and a 3rd.

You have to wonder if a team like the Giants would take a shot at that. I mean, there's no question about him being a 1st round talent. Throwing in a 3rd rounder wouldn't hurt too bad, either. Put in a poison pill, something like that he can't play more than 1 game in the state of Wisconsin per year, and they have themselfs a premier safety on a team with few needs.

"go.pack.go." wrote:



Collins will almost certainly have the highest tender placed on him - a first- and third-round pick - because they have to offer him 110% of his 2009 salary, which was $3.045 million after an escalator kicked in.



There are literally millions of reasons why we might not sign Nick Collins.
(To a long-term contract----YET)
Look at this list. USA Today 2009 NFL Salaries; Safety 

Anyone really think Nick doesn't want to be at the TOP of that list?

Not to mention the signing bonus required.

There are two sides to why a player might not be signed in the time-frame we as fans would want,expect, or hope for. If he and his agent are demanding absolute top-dollar (And why wouldn't they be? Shout-out to all you folk that clicked his name for the pro-bowl) What real advantage is there in making him so very happy in comparison to (probably) losing a (couple of?) player(s) due to financial constraints...when you don't absolutely have to?

I'm not saying not sign him or sign him...I'm saying there are some very legitimate reasons not to have done so. A dollar cannot be two places at once.

The Breno comment sent a shudder down my spine, lol
Rockmolder
15 years ago

I don't see how you go from trying to sign Pickett straight to Clifton....I think Nick Collins is a player that we HAVE to sign. He is a PRO BOWL talent EVERY YEAR!!

"dfosterf" wrote:



But he's a restricted FA. Clifton will be gone if we don't resign him. Collins is going nowhere when he's tendered.

If he does, we get a 1st and a 3rd.

You have to wonder if a team like the Giants would take a shot at that. I mean, there's no question about him being a 1st round talent. Throwing in a 3rd rounder wouldn't hurt too bad, either. Put in a poison pill, something like that he can't play more than 1 game in the state of Wisconsin per year, and they have themselfs a premier safety on a team with few needs.

"Rockmolder" wrote:



Collins will almost certainly have the highest tender placed on him - a first- and third-round pick - because they have to offer him 110% of his 2009 salary, which was $3.045 million after an escalator kicked in.

"go.pack.go." wrote:



There are literally millions of reasons why we might not sign Nick Collins.
(To a long-term contract----YET)
Look at this list. USA Today 2009 NFL Salaries; Safety 

Anyone really think Nick doesn't want to be at the TOP of that list?

Not to mention the signing bonus required.

There are two sides to why a player might not be signed in the time-frame we as fans would want,expect, or hope for. If he and his agent are demanding absolute top-dollar (And why wouldn't they be? Shout-out to all you folk that clicked his name for the pro-bowl) What real advantage is there in making him so very happy in comparison to (probably) losing a (couple of?) player(s) due to financial constraints...when you don't absolutely have to?

I'm not saying not sign him or sign him...I'm saying there are some very legitimate reasons not to have done so. A dollar cannot be two places at once.

The Breno comment sent a shudder down my spine, lol



I think that the All Pro namings had a bigger influence than the Pro Bowl.

Anyway, he deserves to be around spot 4 on that list. You're the contract expert here, couldn't we give him a contract this year and have it heavily loaded on the front, since the upcoming year is most likely uncapped. And even if it isn't, we have some room right now.

Btw, Nick Collins or a 1st and a 3rd?
dfosterf
15 years ago
I do know a decent amount about the financial aspects.

Of course we could heavily load a contract into this year, and we just might.


What if we as an organization are about to report a financial loss for 2009, and would be doing so for 2010 as a result of his front-loaded contract?

It is true we are not running "tight to the cap" that previously existed, and it is also true that we have a low salary in comparison to many teams.

The problem is, we were EXTREMELY tight to PROFITABILITY with that "low to the cap" and "low in comparison" salary.

Dependent upon the level of rebound from our investments from 2008, we very easily (and I give it 50/50) could have operated at a loss for the 2009 season. We will know in June. When you talk about signing a Nick Collins, this discussion is where rubber hits the road 

The fiduciary responsibility of our front office to the organization and the owners is paramount, in my opinion, especially in light of the uncertainty regarding the CBA and salary caps, or the lack of them, as it were. If we are operating at a loss, even with the ticket price increase, would our FO be willing to extract money from the Franchise Preservation Fund in order to pay increased player salaries in 2010?

Nick or the 1st and 3rd?

Nick. Not even a close call, imo
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member
15 years ago
They Sign:
Pickett
Collins
Kampman
Clifton (1 yr)
Tauscher (1 yr)
Green (1 yr)
Spitz
Jolly
Blackmon (1yr)
Bigby

They don't sign:
Colledge
Martin
Kuhn.

Collins is an interesting case. He is RFA but he is going to want a lot more than GB is willing to offer. I say he does not sign until camp is almost over. He signs a 1 year deal only. He is very disgruntled and his play next year reflects the bitter contract negotiation battle. I hope it isn't true but that is what I think will happen. As negotiations drag out GB runs back and signs Bigby just so they don't have both S positions to fill. GB strongly considers putting Harris at S and starting Williams.
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Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago
I find it humorously ironic that every time a fan clicks on a Pro Bowl nomination, he's screwing his own team just a little bit more. Maybe fans should wage campaigns similar to what we see in some states' primaries: sallying forth to nominate enemy players to the Pro Bowl.
UserPostedImage
dfosterf
15 years ago
OR --

Ted tells Nick's agent that right now we are paying Cliffy and ?Hawk? a crapload too much, we are working on that, let me try and get that straightened out, Nick either gets signed or he plays at his 110% under the current designation, his agent advises him that whether it's in Green Bay or not, your big payday is in sight, sorry for your situation, you and 212 folk are in the same boat, play your ass off and you are going to get paid by someone, be it Green Bay or someone else.


:thumbleft: I thought really hard about voting for all those Viking players just as soon as I heard about how they were leading in the fan vote. Fortunately, my vote was not required. :thumbleft:
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