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Green Bay - It's hard to fathom the Green Bay Packers having the $30.5 million in salary cap room they had at the start of 2006 ever again, but the fact is they will have about that much available when 2007 rolls around.
OFFENSE
WR - Greg Jennings, $670,000
WR - Donald Driver, $4.123 million
LT - Chad Clifton, $6.034 million
LG - Daryn Colledge, $782,500
C - Scott Wells, $1.86 million
RG - Jason Spitz, $545,550
RT - Mark Tauscher, $4.089 million
TE - Bubba Franks, $2.4 million
QB - Brett Favre, $11.8 million
RB - Ahman Green, Free agent
FB - William Henderson, $920,000
DEFENSE
LE - Aaron Kampman, $4.0 million
DT - Corey Williams, $484,000
NT - Ryan Pickett, $2.5 million
DE - Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, $6.571 million
SLB - Brady Poppinga, $486,750
MLB - Nick Barnett, $2.379 million
WLB - A.J. Hawk, $2.7 million
CB - Charles Woodson, $3.487 million
CB - Al Harris, $3.575 million
SS - Marquand Manuel, $1.6 million
FS - Nick Collins, $757,000
SPECIALISTS
P - Jon Ryan, $371,666
K - Dave Rayner, $435,000
'
Current projections have the Packers sitting at $29.5 million under the spending limit once the '07 salary cap of an estimated $109 million goes into effect. The Packers are about $3 million under the 2006 cap of $102 million and will be able to carry over a portion of that through some contractual maneuvering at the end of this season.
There are nearly a dozen teams with more cap room than the Packers looking ahead to 2007, but most have many more high-priced unrestricted free agents they need to re-sign before March.
The Packers have eight players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents and one a restricted free agent, and the only ones who might command a contract of any significance are running back Ahman Green and tight end David Martin.
As a result, the Packers head into 2007 armed with bundles of money and the salary cap room to spend it. But as the case has been since he was hired two years ago, general manager Ted Thompson isn't doing cartwheels over the Packers' financial position.
In fact, he doesn't even want to talk about it.
"We don't talk about money," Thompson said.
Well, then, let's talk about free agency.
With three games left this season, the 5-8 Packers could finish at or near .500, which means their chances for an impact player in the draft will be far less than if they finished the season 5-11 or 6-10. Thompson remains committed to building the Packers through the draft, and while that has garnered him some promising young talent, his dip into the free agent pool actually paid some dividends this year.
Two of his best players on defense have been nose tackle Ryan Pickett and cornerback Charles Woodson, both signed to free agent contracts in the off-season.
Pickett has been the most consistent, if not most valuable, player on defense, plugging the middle and helping set the tone for other linemen with his hustle and even temperament. Woodson started slowly but has been very good in the second half of the season despite playing with shoulder and knee injuries. His five interceptions are the most by a Packers cornerback since Mike McKenzie had six in 1999.
The only disappointment in free agency has been safety Marquand Manuel, and his deal was for considerably less than the other two.
Asked if the contribution he has gotten out of Pickett and Woodson would encourage him to use free agency more in the future, Thompson said no.
"We've got some production from our free agents," Thompson said. "But nothing done one year affects anything else. Every deal is a separate entity."
When pressed about the 2006 free agent class, Thompson would only say, "I think it worked out OK."
Thompson refused to evaluate the performance of the three free agents, stating that he was trying to build a team and wasn't fond of speaking of individuals. Obviously, his reticence to talk about free agency or the production of those players leaves those who pay money to see the Packers scratching their heads wondering whether he'll provide first-year coach Mike McCarthy with players who can help him win now.
Thompson made it seem that he would continue on the same methodical path of building with young players and letting them come of age on the field rather than in backup positions behind veterans.
Dollars and sense
Having so much salary cap room does serve a purpose, even if Thompson doesn't have plans to use it. He and vice president of finance Andrew Brandt have created a system in which they can write off a large portion of salary cap charges in the year in which a contract is signed.
Such was the case with end Aaron Kampman, whose four-year, $21 million contract called for $12 million of it to count against the cap in the first year. Thus, future years won't cost the Packers as much and will allow them greater flexibility.
Thompson and Brandt are essentially eating up cap room year to year rather than pushing charges into the future and keeping their fingers crossed they don't all come crashing down at once.
The question, though, is whether Thompson will ever do what is necessary to speed up the rebuilding process and end the culture of losing that has developed over the past two seasons. The Packers have reached a point where they can't beat a team with a winning record, have completely lost their home-field advantage and before long will lose one of their best free-agent recruiting tools - quarterback Brett Favre.
If Thompson isn't careful, the Packers will fall into an abyss from which they can't escape, possibly as deep as the one that trapped them for two decades after the Lombardi era. Free agency isn't a panacea, but it could help.
"I've always said it's certainly a tool that is available when you consider team needs," Thompson said.
Help available
The free agent market could include players such as linebacker Lance Briggs of Chicago, cornerbacks Nate Clements of Buffalo and Asante Samuel of New England, safety Ken Hamlin and kicker Josh Brown of Seattle, tight end Eric Johnson of San Francisco and quarterback Damon Huard of Kansas City.
Pickett, who said he considered many factors before signing his deal, was shocked when told the Packers would have $30 million in cap room next year. But he said his feeling is they are doing just fine with the players they have.
"You give me this same exact team right here and I think it'll be good," Pickett said. "That's how confident I am. I think we have the makings of a good team. This is the best defense talent-wise, by far, that I've ever been on. We just have to keep growing together."
Linebacker Nick Barnett, who has one year left on his contract after this season, said he didn't know what Thompson's plans were for building the team, but he said the free agent additions made during the past off-season were definitely a boost to the team.
"We need to keep the core of players together (first)," Barnett said. "I don't know if we'd be as good a defense without them (the free agents). I think they have helped us."
OFFENSE
WR - Greg Jennings, $670,000
WR - Donald Driver, $4.123 million
LT - Chad Clifton, $6.034 million
LG - Daryn Colledge, $782,500
C - Scott Wells, $1.86 million
RG - Jason Spitz, $545,550
RT - Mark Tauscher, $4.089 million
TE - Bubba Franks, $2.4 million
QB - Brett Favre, $11.8 million
RB - Ahman Green, Free agent
FB - William Henderson, $920,000
DEFENSE
LE - Aaron Kampman, $4.0 million
DT - Corey Williams, $484,000
NT - Ryan Pickett, $2.5 million
DE - Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, $6.571 million
SLB - Brady Poppinga, $486,750
MLB - Nick Barnett, $2.379 million
WLB - A.J. Hawk, $2.7 million
CB - Charles Woodson, $3.487 million
CB - Al Harris, $3.575 million
SS - Marquand Manuel, $1.6 million
FS - Nick Collins, $757,000
SPECIALISTS
P - Jon Ryan, $371,666
K - Dave Rayner, $435,000
'
Current projections have the Packers sitting at $29.5 million under the spending limit once the '07 salary cap of an estimated $109 million goes into effect. The Packers are about $3 million under the 2006 cap of $102 million and will be able to carry over a portion of that through some contractual maneuvering at the end of this season.
There are nearly a dozen teams with more cap room than the Packers looking ahead to 2007, but most have many more high-priced unrestricted free agents they need to re-sign before March.
The Packers have eight players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents and one a restricted free agent, and the only ones who might command a contract of any significance are running back Ahman Green and tight end David Martin.
As a result, the Packers head into 2007 armed with bundles of money and the salary cap room to spend it. But as the case has been since he was hired two years ago, general manager Ted Thompson isn't doing cartwheels over the Packers' financial position.
In fact, he doesn't even want to talk about it.
"We don't talk about money," Thompson said.
Well, then, let's talk about free agency.
With three games left this season, the 5-8 Packers could finish at or near .500, which means their chances for an impact player in the draft will be far less than if they finished the season 5-11 or 6-10. Thompson remains committed to building the Packers through the draft, and while that has garnered him some promising young talent, his dip into the free agent pool actually paid some dividends this year.
Two of his best players on defense have been nose tackle Ryan Pickett and cornerback Charles Woodson, both signed to free agent contracts in the off-season.
Pickett has been the most consistent, if not most valuable, player on defense, plugging the middle and helping set the tone for other linemen with his hustle and even temperament. Woodson started slowly but has been very good in the second half of the season despite playing with shoulder and knee injuries. His five interceptions are the most by a Packers cornerback since Mike McKenzie had six in 1999.
The only disappointment in free agency has been safety Marquand Manuel, and his deal was for considerably less than the other two.
Asked if the contribution he has gotten out of Pickett and Woodson would encourage him to use free agency more in the future, Thompson said no.
"We've got some production from our free agents," Thompson said. "But nothing done one year affects anything else. Every deal is a separate entity."
When pressed about the 2006 free agent class, Thompson would only say, "I think it worked out OK."
Thompson refused to evaluate the performance of the three free agents, stating that he was trying to build a team and wasn't fond of speaking of individuals. Obviously, his reticence to talk about free agency or the production of those players leaves those who pay money to see the Packers scratching their heads wondering whether he'll provide first-year coach Mike McCarthy with players who can help him win now.
Thompson made it seem that he would continue on the same methodical path of building with young players and letting them come of age on the field rather than in backup positions behind veterans.
Dollars and sense
Having so much salary cap room does serve a purpose, even if Thompson doesn't have plans to use it. He and vice president of finance Andrew Brandt have created a system in which they can write off a large portion of salary cap charges in the year in which a contract is signed.
Such was the case with end Aaron Kampman, whose four-year, $21 million contract called for $12 million of it to count against the cap in the first year. Thus, future years won't cost the Packers as much and will allow them greater flexibility.
Thompson and Brandt are essentially eating up cap room year to year rather than pushing charges into the future and keeping their fingers crossed they don't all come crashing down at once.
The question, though, is whether Thompson will ever do what is necessary to speed up the rebuilding process and end the culture of losing that has developed over the past two seasons. The Packers have reached a point where they can't beat a team with a winning record, have completely lost their home-field advantage and before long will lose one of their best free-agent recruiting tools - quarterback Brett Favre.
If Thompson isn't careful, the Packers will fall into an abyss from which they can't escape, possibly as deep as the one that trapped them for two decades after the Lombardi era. Free agency isn't a panacea, but it could help.
"I've always said it's certainly a tool that is available when you consider team needs," Thompson said.
Help available
The free agent market could include players such as linebacker Lance Briggs of Chicago, cornerbacks Nate Clements of Buffalo and Asante Samuel of New England, safety Ken Hamlin and kicker Josh Brown of Seattle, tight end Eric Johnson of San Francisco and quarterback Damon Huard of Kansas City.
Pickett, who said he considered many factors before signing his deal, was shocked when told the Packers would have $30 million in cap room next year. But he said his feeling is they are doing just fine with the players they have.
"You give me this same exact team right here and I think it'll be good," Pickett said. "That's how confident I am. I think we have the makings of a good team. This is the best defense talent-wise, by far, that I've ever been on. We just have to keep growing together."
Linebacker Nick Barnett, who has one year left on his contract after this season, said he didn't know what Thompson's plans were for building the team, but he said the free agent additions made during the past off-season were definitely a boost to the team.
"We need to keep the core of players together (first)," Barnett said. "I don't know if we'd be as good a defense without them (the free agents). I think they have helped us."