Free Agency Thread

[Schultz]

The biggest hint would be if Gutekunst ever mentioned specifically that they'd like to re-sign Ford.

I have not heard of him saying that publicly which IMO adds to the chances they will re-sign him.

 

[DoURant]

The biggest hint would be if Gutekunst ever mentioned specifically that they'd like to re-sign Ford.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

At this point in time, it wouldn't surprise me if Gute is staying pat at Safety, unless he finds a great deal on one. Otherwise, he might be planning on filling the other starting safety spot through the draft or an after draft FA signing. Of course, there is always the chance that the Packers think Anthony Johnson can fill the spot. They may not want to commit any money to a guy like Ford, until after the draft. Since if they draft a couple of Safeties, they will want the roster spots for McKinney, 2 rookies, Johnson and whomever.

 

[DoURant]

At this point in time, it wouldn't surprise me if Gute is staying pat at Safety, unless he finds a great deal on one. Otherwise, he might be planning on filling the other starting safety spot through the draft or an after draft FA signing. Of course, there is always the chance that the Packers think Anthony Johnson can fill the spot. They may not want to commit any money to a guy like Ford, until after the draft. Since if they draft a couple of Safeties, they will want the roster spots for McKinney, 2 rookies, Johnson and whomever.

I think they will sign one more veteran, before all is said and done. My guess is after the draft.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Do they really have a lot of cap room? That would surprise me. I know they could re work a contract or 2 to create more space. I just thought that the 2 FA contracts cap space was minimal. Am I wrong?

Hmmm, I thought they still had like $16 mil in cap space, and that's after paying the upcoming draft class. But I believe the intent is to carry it to 2025 when Love's extension will kick in and more cap room will be needed.

Gluten may still make some small moves in FA. They're in this position because they deliberately took Rodgers' $40 mil dead cap hit last season. This is the first year since 2019 they've had cap space. That was the year they got the Smiths, Amos, and Turner.

 

[Heyjoe4]

At this point in time, it wouldn't surprise me if Gute is staying pat at Safety, unless he finds a great deal on one. Otherwise, he might be planning on filling the other starting safety spot through the draft or an after draft FA signing. Of course, there is always the chance that the Packers think Anthony Johnson can fill the spot. They may not want to commit any money to a guy like Ford, until after the draft. Since if they draft a couple of Safeties, they will want the roster spots for McKinney, 2 rookies, Johnson and whomever.

Yeah the only safeties left who are worth having are too expensive. Gluten did well with McKinney and Jacobs, probably spent too much on Nixon but it sounds like kickoff returns will be making a comeback with rule changes.

I just wonder how these FA deals come together so fast if they can't talk to the agents before the first day of "legal" tampering (that phrase cracks me up). I'm sure McKinney had many suitors, so how does that all get worked out in one day - actually in hours? Maybe it's because all the illegal tampering has already been done.......

 

[sschind]

Yeah the only safeties left who are worth having are too expensive. Gluten did well with McKinney and Jacobs, probably spent too much on Nixon but it sounds like kickoff returns will be making a comeback with rule changes.

I just wonder how these FA deals come together so fast if they can't talk to the agents before the first day of "legal" tampering (that phrase cracks me up). I'm sure McKinney had many suitors, so how does that all get worked out in one day - actually in hours? Maybe it's because all the illegal tampering has already been done.......

I agree on the legal tampering thing but here's another way to look at it. Even though they can't contact the player or their agent they still have numbers in mind. Maybe a range they find acceptable. In most cases there are probably 2 or 3 teams interested in a given player. The clock strikes midnight and the teams call the agents and give them their numbers. The agent compares the numbers and makes the counter offers if required. Both sides have numbers in mind and I don't think it has to be all that time consuming.

 

[longtimefan]

They tried to sign a kicker, agreed to terms. But he backed out. Not sure who it was

 

[Thirteen Below]

They tried to sign a kicker, agreed to terms. But he backed out. Not sure who it was

Wasn't that a 24-hour period in which several teams all signed free agent kickers? Because if that's so, yeah.... it would be difficult to work out which one it was. I mean, if the day the deal fell through was the same afternoon such-and-such team signed so-and-so as a free agent, and that was the only one signed in that general period of time, it'd be fairly easy to sort out.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I agree on the legal tampering thing but here's another way to look at it. Even though they can't contact the player or their agent they still have numbers in mind. Maybe a range they find acceptable. In most cases there are probably 2 or 3 teams interested in a given player. The clock strikes midnight and the teams call the agents and give them their numbers. The agent compares the numbers and makes the counter offers if required. Both sides have numbers in mind and I don't think it has to be all that time consuming.

That makes sense. And it's hard to know when a guy will get tagged, so no point in putting in a lotta work other than a basic comp outline ahead of time. I'm not even sure a contract is signed that first Monday, just an agreement in principle, a commitment to finish a deal.

 

[Heyjoe4]

They tried to sign a kicker, agreed to terms. But he backed out. Not sure who it was

Interesting. I didn't know this. Makes sense. This is a competitive team but the kicker was/is unpredictable.

 

[XPack]

Just read Micah Hyde is a FA still.

He's 34 but I'd still take him on a veteran minimum.if possible.

 

[OldSchool101]

Just read Micah Hyde is a FA still.

He's 34 but I'd still take him on a veteran minimum.if possible.

I agree. While 1 argument is we “want to go younger”. In Win mode you should not be taking that approach at every position and player. Having a mixture of experienced leaders is best imo
We can look back to Both our 1996 and 2010 Superbowls to see clear evidence of a mixture of experienced players.
The other way we know how hard it is to have success with ALL young players? That stat about our team being the first team since the merger to win 1 playoff game with all these 1st and 2nd year players. Reading between the line..NO team have EVER advanced to a Conference Championship with ALL young players. Ever. That’s 12-14 teams times how many NFL seasons??
1 in over 700 playoff teams have ever won a playoff contest (‘23 Packers) It takes more than pure youth to be ultra successful. THAT is why we just went after multiple FA Veterans to both retain and upgrade using experience.
We’re not looking to keep older players long term. Sometimes it’s ok to get 1-2 seasons in order to plug needs. Especially if they are “Dillon like” contracts.
We need some “Easy out, low risk” alternatives over depending on a Day 3 draft pick or Undrafted player to win a starting role on a Super Bowl Championship caliber Roster.

 

[PikeBadger]

I have not heard of him saying that publicly which IMO adds to the chances they will re-sign him.

For me, it reduces the chance.

 

[Pkrjones]

Just read Micah Hyde is a FA still.

He's 34 but I'd still take him on a veteran minimum.if possible.

His last 2 seasons have ended with neck injuries, with a serious surgery following '22 season. He is contemplating retiring & I'd encourage that if I were a friend.

 

[OldSchool101]

His last 2 seasons have ended with neck injuries, with a serious surgery following '22 season. He is contemplating retiring & I'd encourage that if I were a friend.

I didn’t know this thanks.
Seems to be a recurring thing probably best to hang up the cleats.
He was a great player for us, wish he could’ve stayed in GB

 

[XPack]

His last 2 seasons have ended with neck injuries, with a serious surgery following '22 season. He is contemplating retiring & I'd encourage that if I were a friend.

Bizarre...considering he played 14 games in 2023 and was decent!

We don't want him as main Corner, but his experience will surely help as a backstop given the minimum wages.

 

[Pkrjones]

Bizarre...considering he played 14 games in 2023 and was decent!

We don't want him as main Corner, but his experience will surely help as a backstop given the minimum wages.

This could be goodbye for Micah Hyde, one of most important Buffalo Bills players ever

Micah Hyde and the Bills were a perfect match and the safety was a leader who set the tone for a new culture that revitalized the franchise.

www.democratandchronicle.com

 

[Heyjoe4]

This could be goodbye for Micah Hyde, one of most important Buffalo Bills players ever

Micah Hyde and the Bills were a perfect match and the safety was a leader who set the tone for a new culture that revitalized the franchise.

www.democratandchronicle.com

Thanks for the article on Micah Hyde. I had no idea about any of this stuff and how much he meant to Buffalo - or that he was a 5th round pick!

If I remember, GB played him at CB when his best position was S. So he was an ok CB here and a great S in Buffalo. Seems like this happens with GB, mostly on defense where scheme is more important than talent. Or maybe the DC and the coaches just never saw it.

That was one of Barry's faults, making the players fit the scheme. Hopefully Hafley has more flexibility. And I'm not downplaying scheme, but we always hear about DCs' preferred schemes - 3-4, 4-3, zone, man, blitz heavy - when it seems to me it's better to put the players where they play best and adjust the scheme. That's probably what the best DCs are already doing.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I did not know about Hyde's neck issues either. I hope he chooses the safe path and hangs it up. His contracts in the NFL have totaled over $50M, so as long as he has been halfway smart with his $20M or so of that, he should be set.

It's too bad, here I thought he would be THE guy to come in and really help the Packers secondary. A solid vet, familiar with Green Bay and perhaps one of the final pieces of the secondary to really make it formidable.

 

[Schultz]

For me, it reduces the chance.

Since the guys he did say he wanted to keep were not kept I figured the opposite could be true also.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I did not know about Hyde's neck issues either. I hope he chooses the safe path and hangs it up. His contracts in the NFL have totaled over $50M, so as long as he has been halfway smart with his $20M or so of that, he should be set.

It's too bad, here I thought he would be THE guy to come in and really help the Packers secondary. A solid vet, familiar with Green Bay and perhaps one of the final pieces of the secondary to really make it formidable.

Same here. He's been playing with fire with the neck issues. Seems like he's smart enough to know it's time to call it a career. Seems like a great guy.

 

[PikeBadger]

Since the guys he did say he wanted to keep were not kept I figured the opposite could be true also.

He said he would like to keep Dillon, Wilson and Ballentine. Their all back. Jones they couldn't come to agreement with. I never heard the team mention they wanted Savage or Nijman.

 

[PikeBadger]

Thanks for the article on Micah Hyde. I had no idea about any of this stuff and how much he meant to Buffalo - or that he was a 5th round pick!

If I remember, GB played him at CB when his best position was S. So he was an ok CB here and a great S in Buffalo. Seems like this happens with GB, mostly on defense where scheme is more important than talent. Or maybe the DC and the coaches just never saw it.

That was one of Barry's faults, making the players fit the scheme. Hopefully Hafley has more flexibility. And I'm not downplaying scheme, but we always hear about DCs' preferred schemes - 3-4, 4-3, zone, man, blitz heavy - when it seems to me it's better to put the players where they play best and adjust the scheme. That's probably what the best DCs are already doing.

Hyde was under the Capers regime. Imo Capers played Hyde, Raji, Randall and Heyward out of position.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Hyde was under the Capers regime. Imo Capers played Hyde, Raji, Randall and Heyward out of position.

I knew he played Hyde, Randall, and Hayward out of position - and that's frustrating because Hyde and Hayward had very successful careers once out of GB. How did he play Raji out of position? I thought Raji was the nose tackle.