Green Bay Packers Free Agents thread

ivo610

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Here's my educated guess at the situation (forgive me if I forgot someone). Will also touch on guys getting cut for the 53 man:
QB:
we keep Flynn this year, and elevate Harrell to the roster.

RB/FB
BJax: out. Someone will pay him to be 3rd down receiver.
Kuhn: in. He'll be the 3rd down receiver.
Hall: out: we drafted some guys to play the FB position in Taylor and Williams. My bet is they'll get the spot based on youth.
Johnson: out. Though he was very good at blocking, we won't have the spot on the roster for a strickly blocking FB that doesn't play well on ST.
Taylor: in
DJ Williams: in
Nance: out. Alex Green takes his place
Green: in

TE:
Crabtree: in. Best blocking TE and plays ST and evolved on the passing game.
Havner: out. Williams take his spot.

WR:
Jones: out. Someone will pay him more than we do. Hope it's not the bears or vikings.
Robinson: out
West: out
Swain: in. Mostly for ST purposes.

OL:
Colledge: out. Ditto.
Spitz: out. Not reliable, performed poorly last 2 years.
EDS: out. McDonald beats him.
McDonald: in.
Campbell: in
Newhouse: in
Schlauderaff: out.
Tauscher: out
Battles: out

DL:
Wynn: in.
Wilson: in.
Jenkins: out. someone will pay him BIG. It'll be Washington.
Harrell: out. Or IR. Whatever comes first.
Green: in
Ross: out
Guy: out.

LB:
Barnett: in. I still not sure about this, I think he stays, I just don't know if he earns some playing time or re-structures his contrat.
Chillar: out. Too much money too little production.
Poppinga: out
Young: out
Wilhem: out
Jackson: out
François: out.
Briggs: out
DJ Smith: in
Ricky Elmore: in
Jones: in
Zombo: out. I don't see 5 roster spots for OLBs and just 3 for ILBs. I think Zombo is is the one cut for presenting the least upside of the rest.
Walden: in

CB/S:
Bigby: out
Greco: out
Anthony Smith: in.
Levine: out.
Underwood: out. Off field problems are enough, but he wasn't reliable on the field, was inactive for the SB.
Bell: Out
Gordy: out.
Lee: in.
House: in.

K:
Crosby is back: in

I didn't list obvious players that we will keep. And, amazingly, that includes Jarrett Bush.

This would be the 53 man roster:
QBs: Rodgers, Flynn, Harrell (3)
RBs: Grant, Starks, Green (3)
FBs: Kuhn, Williams (2)
TEs: Finley, Quarless, Crabtree, Williams (4)
WR: Jennings, Driver, Nelson, Cobb, Swain (5)
OL: Clifton, Lang, Wells, Sitton, Bulaga, Sherrod, Newhouse, McDonald, Campbell (9)
DL: Raji, Pickett, Neal, Wynn, Green, Wilson (6)
LB: Matthews, Jones, Walden, Elmore, Hawk, Bishop, Barnett, DJ Smith (8)
CB: Woodson, Williams, Shields, Lee, House, Bush (6)
S: Collins, Peprah, Burnett, Smith (4)
P: Masthay (1)
K: Crosby (1)
LS: Goode (1)
total: 53 players

There you have it. Some rookies will be cut as almost always happens, specially now that there wasn't OTAs and minicamp. There are some surprises, as there always are. I don't think any UDFA makes the team this year, for the lack of OTAs and minicamp. And I fully expect to be almost completely wrong, because I don't remember the last time someone nailed the 53, specially without seeing this guys practice and perform in preseason.

But it is a guess, specially regarding the free agents.

Zombo out? wow thats a big surprise. I know he struggled but I would think he would get another year. He had some big sacks. For the most part I agree with the list, but think Kuhn will be gone.

good work btw, that had to take awhile
 

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I know we have a slew or rb's we can use but if we added DeAngelo or someone like Reggie Bush, does that not make us by far the best offense in the league? I'm a Ryan Grant fan and i think his explosiveness is underrated, but it's not the same as Reggie or DeAngelo.
 

SpartaChris

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I know we have a slew or rb's we can use but if we added DeAngelo or someone like Reggie Bush, does that not make us by far the best offense in the league? I'm a Ryan Grant fan and i think his explosiveness is underrated, but it's not the same as Reggie or DeAngelo.

NO.

Simply put, WE DON'T NEED THEM. We have a good, solid group of guys, and we're already one of the best offenses in the league. We really don't need Reggie Bush or DeAngelo Williams.

Besides, Bush is seriously overrated, and Williams is coming off an injury that was more serious than Grant's. Why take the risk, especially when we already have several people at that position? And with the way our offense utilizes the running game, I just don't see an improvement.
 

SpartaChris

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Folks, lets remember that we won the Super Bowl last year, and we did it WITHOUT adding some big name free agent or trading away draft picks. Our guys know what they're doing, and our personnel has proven they can win the big one. We don't need seasoned vets from someone else's team. We need our own guys to develop and turn into big time playmakers. It's what we're good at and is the only proven formula for long term, sustained success.
 

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From what I heard on the radio this morning, there won't be a period in which teams can negotiate with their UFAs exclusively. Apparently teams will be able to talk to - and sign - undrafted free agents and any unrestricted free agents (UFA) beginning as soon as this afternoon. Those deals won't be official until later this week or early next week but for all practical purposes would be "done". I've also heard there are about 660 players who will be UFAs, by far the largest pool ever due to the unusual situation for players who would have otherwise been UFAs last season.

This unique situation has me wondering if Thompson will approach UFAs from other teams. I certainly don't expect him to pursue high-priced UFAs, that is not his MO and he has core players who will be UFAs after this season to spend money and cap room on. However I wonder if, for example, Colledge signs elsewhere if Thompson would look for some veteran "insurance" at the LG spot? What if after the first flurry of signings, there are a couple of UFA WRs available and the Packers have lost Jones to free agency? Of course I don't expect Thompson to make a big splash, I just wonder if he'll be shopping at all.

With so many players returning from IR, a deep roster, and the Packers coming off a Super Bowl win, I did not expect Thompson to pick more than 7 draftees. Perhaps he surprises us again - these are uncharted waters for the NFL, starting as soon as this afternoon.
 

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With regard to Barnett, I'd like to see the Packers get a decent draft pick for him. But I don't know that Ted has a lot of leverage. Barnett is coming off injury and he isn't old but no spring chicken either. Teams will argue that plus they know the Packers want to jettison his salary. I think the chances of him getting cut outright or traded are 50-50.

I agree that someone will pay Jenkins crazy money. That's what I like about Ted. He usually doesn't get caught with his pants down(not having a tackle a few years back was one time). Anyway he's prepared for the loss of Jenkins by drafting Neal who I think is going to be a beast at end.

I like Jones but he does drop a lot of balls.

As for Free agency, the Packers should just bargain shop. We have a talented roster so pick and choose with young and less costly players.
 

PackersRS

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Zombo out? wow thats a big surprise. I know he struggled but I would think he would get another year. He had some big sacks. For the most part I agree with the list, but think Kuhn will be gone.

good work btw, that had to take awhile

Thanks for the compliment, but as it was just guesswork, it didn't take that much time. I didn't particularly study each players' contracts, medical history, etc... to make a better call. I stuck to some basic lines of thought (mainly how the shortened offseason will afect TT's decision) and some personal calls (Zombo, per example, where I could be completely wrong). With the right tools (Packers website, pro-football-reference.com) it gets done a lot easier.
 

ivo610

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I know we have a slew or rb's we can use but if we added DeAngelo or someone like Reggie Bush, does that not make us by far the best offense in the league? I'm a Ryan Grant fan and i think his explosiveness is underrated, but it's not the same as Reggie or DeAngelo.

I asked about Williams myself but it was in the general context of the NFL, not the Packers (I should have made that more clear when I asked though)

We dont need another RB. Its throwing money away for the most part. Its not a need position in the NFL (contrary to what steeler fans told you before the SB). I like Williams alot, and think some team might get a steal, but Bush I cant stand as a player or as a person (met him, complete assh*le).
 

ivo610

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Thanks for the compliment, but as it was just guesswork, it didn't take that much time. I didn't particularly study each players' contracts, medical history, etc... to make a better call. I stuck to some basic lines of thought (mainly how the shortened offseason will afect TT's decision) and some personal calls (Zombo, per example, where I could be completely wrong). With the right tools (Packers website, pro-football-reference.com) it gets done a lot easier.

Do you think we will sign any FAs? I mean besides undrafted ones.
 

PackersRS

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Do you think we will sign any FAs? I mean besides undrafted ones.
You know very well that, even if it appears TT is asleep during FA, he and the front office do their due dilligence.

But, with the ammount of good players we have plus the ammount of good players we have coming back from injury, you can't get a FA without losing a very good, young, promising player in the roster.

Right now, I don't see it. If there's a huge bargain, and I mean HUGE bargain, I really don't see it, unless someone goes down. Because we have every position already figured out.

Even at positions of concern we have young players that management wants to see stepping up.

Bringing a LG means hampering Lang's development. Bringin an OLB means that all our young guys (Zombo, Walden, Jones, Elmore) won't get a chance to develop. The same for the DEs with Neal, Wynn and Wilson.

So unless Asomugah basically throws himself at the Packers' feet, willing to sign for $2M per year, I don't think so. Because there aren't many young, good, cheap FAs out there. There are only veterans and young unproven players for the positions of need we have, and we already have those kind of guys on our team. And where there are good FAs, first of all they're expensive, and second of all, are in positions where our scheme doesn't require (like Charles Johnson) or positions where we're completely loaded (Santonio Holmes).

And for that matter, I don't see any UDFA making the roster without any OTAs and Minicamp. Training Camp and the preseason will be hard enough with the rookies and fringe players fighting for the little roster spots left, let alone some UDFA that wasn't good enough for the team to invest a draft pick in, doesn't know anything of the playbook and never having played a down in pro football.

It's like this. We just won it all, so we have a deep roster as it is. Now, add 16 players coming back from injury to that deep roster. And to top it all, add 10 drafted players to it.

There's just not enough room. We already have our free agents, it's the guys coming back from injury. And we already have our possibly impactful UDFA, it's the later round guys we drafted.
 

ivo610

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If Nnamdi Asomugha signs with the Packers does that make us the Miami Heat of the NFL?
 

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ESPN is reporting that each team has to provide an official list of their free agents by 6 pm today. I guess that is already known.
 

PackersRS

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If Nnamdi Asomugha signs with the Packers does that make us the Miami Heat of the NFL?
The Heat felt short. We won't. With or without Nnamdi. Not to mention our team is much more complete than the Heat.

If you're talking solely about the backfield, I'd argue that with Nnamdi, Sir Charles, Tramon, Shields, Collins and Peprah, there's only 1 weak link, and even that is arguable. It may very well be the best backfield ever assembled.
 

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I would LOVE to see Capers' D with the addition of Asomugha. It would be so good we'd almost have to pity opponents' Os!

If Thompson could get a quality LG at a bargain price IMO he should do it and not worry about Lang's progress. But Thompson's MO is to let the market come to him, not visa versa. I'm wondering if he'll show any interest in other teams' UFAs.

I'll be surprised if Wynn makes the team this season. Remember he was waived at the final cut down before last season and was signed only because of injury. Wilson is ahead of him and I'll bet the rookie gets every chance to jump ahead of him on the depth chart. I think DL is one of the easier positions to grasp mentally so I think Guy has a real shot.

I will be more surprised if Zombo doesn’t make it. I really liked Walden but I think the staff likes Zombo better. I think they trade or cut Barnett for cap room and from what I saw of Jones, I think Zombo has a higher upside in the 3-4. Consider how far he progressed last season after joining the team as a UDFA. Without the off season work it'll be very difficult for rookies to overtake Zombo IMO.

I would also guess Swain is gone but all this is extreme guesswork since we haven't seen, heard about or read about a single practice. HAPPILY that's about to change!
 

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Yup. PFT has it too. Not that I was surprised. His Super Bowl XV drama proved he wasn't a leader, plus he got outplayed by Bishop AND Hawk last season. Time to move on.
 

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Per Jason Wilde, the Packers are still trying to re-sign James Jones, which I would love to see.
 

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Packers will release Brady Poppinga, Justin Harrell

We already knew Nick Barnett would be leaving the Packers once teams can officially start releasing people and now we know he won’t be alone. Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin reported that the team will also release defensive lineman Justin Harrell and linebacker Brady Poppinga on Thursday. Poppinga’s agent said Wednesday that he had no…
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Source: ProFootballTalk.com
 

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