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The current issue of the Sporting News has had a section the past couple of weeks titled "Offseason game plan" for each of the teams that dropped out of the playoffs. This week the Green Bay Packers are featured, and the analysis is disappointing.
According to the Sporting News, "The club has about $24 million in slaray cap room and only one significant free agent -- DT Corey Williams -- but it's unlikely G.M. Ted Thompson will go on a spending spree. He doesn't need to accumulate draft choices as he has the past three years because he has a lot of young backups waiting for an opportunity. Thompson's best bet is to go for one big-name free agent like Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant or Bears OLB Lance Briggs."
The Sporting News is certainly right about the Packers not needing to accumulate draft choices. Thompson is likely to sit on his choices and not trade any away.
It's also possible that the Packers will go after a big-name free agent with all the salary cap space they have, but it's highly, highly doubtful that Trufant or Briggs (pictured) will be the player they covet.
Both starting cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson are on the wrong side of 30, and the Packers need to inject some new life into the cornerback position. That being said, Harris and Woodson probably still have another productive season or two left in them.
So why on God's green earth would Trufant want to come to a team where he couldn't even start? The Packers could woo Trufant with promises of plenty of playing time in nickel packages, but that's not going to cut it for a Pro Bowl performer.
There's plenty of good corners in this year's draft, and that looks to be one area where the Packers can improve their team through the college ranks. Players such as Troy's Leodis McKelvin, Indiana's Tracy Porter, and former Division I-AA player Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are all potential late first round picks.
Visions of Briggs in a Packers uniform are also a pipe dream. Green Bay could use an upgrade over Brady Poppinga at linebacker, but the problem is that Briggs plays on the weakside. It's possible that Briggs would be willing to make the move seeing as he would get a big payday regardless, but there are just more feasible scenarios out there.
One such case would be Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca. It looks like Faneca is set to rake in the most cash among all available free agent offensive linemen, but linemen tend to command less money than other higher profile positions such as outside linebacker. Therefore, the Packers wouldn't have to break the bank to improve the team.
The Packers could do better than Daryn Colledge at guard. That opens the door for a player like Faneca who could help the Packer offense and Brett Favre make another run at a Super Bowl.
According to the Sporting News, "The club has about $24 million in slaray cap room and only one significant free agent -- DT Corey Williams -- but it's unlikely G.M. Ted Thompson will go on a spending spree. He doesn't need to accumulate draft choices as he has the past three years because he has a lot of young backups waiting for an opportunity. Thompson's best bet is to go for one big-name free agent like Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant or Bears OLB Lance Briggs."
The Sporting News is certainly right about the Packers not needing to accumulate draft choices. Thompson is likely to sit on his choices and not trade any away.
It's also possible that the Packers will go after a big-name free agent with all the salary cap space they have, but it's highly, highly doubtful that Trufant or Briggs (pictured) will be the player they covet.
Both starting cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson are on the wrong side of 30, and the Packers need to inject some new life into the cornerback position. That being said, Harris and Woodson probably still have another productive season or two left in them.
So why on God's green earth would Trufant want to come to a team where he couldn't even start? The Packers could woo Trufant with promises of plenty of playing time in nickel packages, but that's not going to cut it for a Pro Bowl performer.
There's plenty of good corners in this year's draft, and that looks to be one area where the Packers can improve their team through the college ranks. Players such as Troy's Leodis McKelvin, Indiana's Tracy Porter, and former Division I-AA player Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are all potential late first round picks.
Visions of Briggs in a Packers uniform are also a pipe dream. Green Bay could use an upgrade over Brady Poppinga at linebacker, but the problem is that Briggs plays on the weakside. It's possible that Briggs would be willing to make the move seeing as he would get a big payday regardless, but there are just more feasible scenarios out there.
One such case would be Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca. It looks like Faneca is set to rake in the most cash among all available free agent offensive linemen, but linemen tend to command less money than other higher profile positions such as outside linebacker. Therefore, the Packers wouldn't have to break the bank to improve the team.
The Packers could do better than Daryn Colledge at guard. That opens the door for a player like Faneca who could help the Packer offense and Brett Favre make another run at a Super Bowl.
Photo credit: Nam Y. Huh for the AP
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