Not a headline from The Onion. And with the momentous good news that Big Ted will return to GM the pants off the rest of the NFL for another spectacular season, you’re probably doubled over because your stomach hurts from laughing.
But look, THIS IS THE YEAR!
This is apparently the year Big Ted listens to Hank and starts making some major moves… in free agency. Ian Rapoport actually reported this on Thursday with a straight face. He also said the Green Bay Packers’ No. target among their own free agents is tight end Jared Cook, which is a no-brainer. Cook was key to the Packers’ second-half resurgence.
“From what I’m told,” Rapoport said, “I would think the Packers are going to go and get some free agents this year along with trying to re-sign Jared Cook — which is a priority for them.”
Frankly, I feel like someone says something like this every year and then nothing… zero… zilch… nada.
Last year, you’ll recall that Big Ted was off at the Wisconsin Badgers pro day when free agency opened. Couldn’t have sent one of your scouts to that one!
But that just goes to show Ted had no intention of even bothering to call any of the name free agents. Not to ask their price, see if they might want to come in for a visit or gauge the marketplace.
Nah, I’m just gonna get into the old Corolla and drive down to Madtown. There’s a long snapper there that I’ve just gotta have a first-hand look at!
So yeah, I will fucking believe it when I see it.
Of course, if I were to play devil’s advocate, I would point out that Aaron Rodgers said the Packers need to reload after the loss in Atlanta. Many thought that was meant to pressure Thompson into, you know, actually doing his entire job this offseason, rather than just being a glorified college scout.
Re-signing Jared Cook, a priority?.
Wow, how does Ian pull off magic like that? All the other reporters must be kicking themselves missing out on that scoop.
Look at that picture…as if that picture itself doesn’t answer a 1,000 questions…useless fucking mouth breather.
I was going to complain about the picture on the previous TT articles. In the vehicle I didn’t believe those pictures were recent. This photo of TT looks more recent, but I think it is still not a current picture. The site needs to put the picture from the previous articles with TT in the vehicle up against the most current TT photo they can find. I think it will show how much TT has declined as Rob wrote about a few days ago.
When AR’s resigning comes up I would hope he grabs the front office personnel by the nuts and request changes be made or else he takes his trade to another team that has a good defense. He will make any offense winners with his talent. Then they will know how bad they fucked up.
Funny you say that, earlier i was thinking. What if Rodgers was the QB of the vikings? With that defense, plenty of weapons to score. How many S B’s would he have now?
I`ll believe this when I see it! Last year it was reported tht McCarthy was “tired/sick of the way Thompson approaches free agency” and then he denied this. I do believe this was true nut McCarthy felt he had to smooth things over. They should re-sign Cook and they should set upon building a defense. I believe they will never go all the way again if they don`t.
“What, pray tell, is this ‘free agency’ of which you speak?”
-Ted Thompson
Come on now, Ted’s always active in free agency. Only with the undrafted sort of free agency. Watch him double down this year! “What, we told you we were gonna be active, are you not entertained?”
Never have the lyrics to a song seemed more poignant. The lyrics to “Sound of Silence”, you know the words, all together now, “Hello darkness, my old friend…”
Ian Rappaport is to reporting as TT is to GM’ing, they both suck! Only Ted does it literally, not sure about Ian. One more year SelnderMan and AR can check off another missed SB opportunity. This freak will continue to sign his “own guy’s” and shoe salesmen that excelled in high school football 3 years ago. Mark Murphy is a perfect compliment to the big white rat!
Packers have a lot of significant free agents and not that much cap room. Something like 24 million if memory serves and it may not. Sounds like a lot of money, sure.
But look at those free agents! Pro bowler T.J. Lang. J.C. Tretter. Eddie Lacy. Jared Cook. Julius Peppers. Micah Hyde. Depending on contract structure and how back-loaded (some of these player agents are quite foolish) they basically have the money to sign Lang and Cook and their draft class. Now this is assuming the Packers actually try to spend money instead of hoarding it.
That would mean resigning 2 of 6 major players and no significant free agents from other teams. Want a good CB like Trumaine Johnson maybe? Then let Lang fly away and sign Johnson and Cook. Feel better there?
This year will be the craziest free agent money of all time. The Packers have the least effective GMs in the NFL at obtaining free agents from other team, one of the most significant crops of their own free agents, and relatively little money to spend. Not a good combination.
$35 million poindexter. And expected to release Shields which will raise that figure to around $44 million. It will cost ~$5 million to sign the draft class so that will bring the available cash to $39 million.
As stated, sometimes my memory does not serve. So, 35 million. I guess then they can sign Lang, Cook, AND Trumaine Johnson. And maybe another player IF they release Shields AND IF they are willing to actually spend the money. But releasing a really good corner just means you need to go get another one. Lord knows the Packers do not seem able to draft or develop one (see Rollins, Quenton and Randall, Demarious).
Shields does need to be released. He is a drug abuser (not that the Packers care about that) and has the concussion issue which likely means his career is over. I’m not saying they should not release him. But, the point is if they used ALL their available money — something they may or may not do as they like to hold onto it to buy even MORE houses and land with inflated prices around Green Bay — land they often own individually so it is all a game to line their own pockets — — then they could possibly sign their own free agents. Or they can let some go and replace them with other guys but it is a big trade off. Treading water. Not getting ahead.
You can say you could get rid of injured guys like Shields and Land and Tretter and Lacy so you are ahead. But that is all in hindsight. Maybe they will be healthy next year and other players signed injured.
The overall point that the “have the least effective GMs in the NFL at obtaining free agents from other team, one of the most significant crops of their own free agents, and relatively little money to spend” is still exactly correct, Mr. Kato Poindexter of the Wisconsin Poindexters.
I will be proven wrong if the Packers resign all their free agents and a major free agent from another team or almost all their own free agents and two major free agents from other teams. By major I mean at least in the TOP 50 available. We’ll see.
Holy Herbivore, boy wonder!
I just looked at the Top 100 free agents listed currently. Guess what?
Packers free agents include #14, #17, #34, and #46 in the Top 50 !
I had totally forgotten about #17, Nick Perry! I had not even factored him in! So the extra 11 million I had not factored in is more than consumed just by resigning Perry! So my observations on the Packers free agent situation 2017 are EVEN MORE true than expected!
Packers free agents to be also include #66 (Hyde), #76 (Cook), #83 (Datone Jones), and #94 (Peppers) !
They probably won’t be able to resign all their own talent let alone go after talent from other teams. If they do obtain talent from elsewhere then they will have to rob Peter to pay Paul and will be giving up more of their own talent. That is it. Those are the only choices.
Other notes:
Trumaine Johnson is #18 on the list but has already been franchised.
Vikes have less money available now than the Packers. However, contrast the free agents they may or may not need to resign with those of the Packers. Packers have 4 in the Top 50 available = Vikes have none. Packers have 4 more in the 51-100 range. Vikes have two (Captain Munnerlyn at #74 and Cordarrelle Patterson at #96). That is a huge differential. If both teams resigned all their own Top 100 available players it would likely cost the Packers 60 million (at least) per year and the Vikings 12 million (at most) per year. With that 40 million (after Shields is released and the draft class is signed and assuming the Packers actually spend it) the team can just resign 2/3rds of its own free agent class value.
Oddly enough, my mind transposed the Vikings with the Packers as money available in free agency. The Vikes have 24 million to the Packers 35 million. However, as you point out, the Packers will cut Shields and will save them 9 million. But the Vikings will cut AP and that will save them 18 million. After those cuts the Packers would be at 44 million, as you said, and the Vikings will be behind them at 42 million. Subtract 4 million from each team for the rookie class and incidentals (though slightly unfair to the Vikes as they have no #1 pick to take half the rookie money) and it is 40 million Packers to 38 million Vikings.
Assume both teams resign all their Top 100 free agents. That puts the Packers at 20 million OVER the cap and the Vikings with 26 million left to spend.
What will this mean? I guess the Packers will be penalized draft picks and forced to cut players as well. Meanwhile the Vikings can extend Xavier Rhodes’ contract and also sign Kevin Zeitler or Ricky Wagner to help the offensive line.
I am convinced that the whole active in free agency thing as per the Packers means they will be desperately trying to resign their own free agents.
Since 2012 – Jeff Saturday, Julius Peppers, Letroy Guion, Jared Cook. Wouldn’t rule FA out for TT. Why is everyone else so skeptical? We probably REALLY need one too.
Jeff Saturday? lol