GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In case you needed a reminder of how committed Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson is to his draft-and-develop mindset, you should know how he spent the first day of free agency.
Thompson spent Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin’s Pro Day, watching draft prospects from the Badgers and a handful of other schools from around the state.
@jessetemple Obligatory photo to add to this total. But can you spot Green Bay's Ted Thompson? Like Where's Waldo. pic.twitter.com/NIFMmc2Orc
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) March 9, 2016
No, the draft-and-develop philosophy in Green Bay isn’t changing.
While millions of dollars were being thrown around as soon as free agency opened at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the Packers stood pat while some of the players they were either reported to be interested in (running back Matt Forte) and ones fans hoped they would go after (linebacker Danny Trevathan and several tight ends) signed elsewhere.
Forte, whose name was tied to the Packers since the moment the Chicago Bears told him last month they wouldn’t re-sign him, went to the New York Jets. Trevathan left the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos for the Bears while tight ends Ladarius Green (from San Diego to Pittsburgh) and Coby Fleener (from Indianapolis to New Orleans) found new homes.
The Packers’ two biggest needs -- tight end and inside linebacker -- remain unfilled and might stay that way until the draft. Despite coach Mike McCarthy’s claim at last month’s scouting combine that the Packers “might shock you” in free agency and Thompson insisting that he values free agency, he almost never makes any moves in the early part of the process.
If Thompson does shock anyone, it will almost certainly be after the initial push in free agency.
Also, Thompson typically attends the Badgers’ Pro Day whether it’s on the first day of free agency or not.
And as much as Packers’ fans might want Thompson to do something -- anything -- ESPN NFL Live host Trey Wingo offered a timely reminder just before the market opened on Wednesday, when he tweeted that only six players who changed teams last year made the Pro Bowl, and that was in a year when the league had a record 133 Pro Bowlers because of all the players who withdrew.
To your point: only 6 players that changed teams last year made the Pro Bowl... when we had a record 133 Pro Bowlers https://t.co/mFMYes2UfE
— trey wingo (@wingoz) March 9, 2016
Although the Broncos had major success with free agency -- 50 percent of the salary cap during their recently completed Super Bowl season went to free-agent signings -- in general the market hasn’t helped teams. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Dolphins, Colts, Buccaneers and Jaguars have spent the most guaranteed money in free agency under the new CBA (since 2011), and only the Colts have a winning record in that time.
The four teams that have spent the least -- the Steelers, Packers, Bengals and Cowboys -- all are at .500 or better in that stretch. Of the four, the Packers have the highest winning percentage (.706) in that span despite ranking 31st in guaranteed money for free agents.
With the start of the new league year, the NFL Players Association released its official salary-cap numbers. The Packers were $20,642,816 under the 2016 salary cap of $155,270,000 and that includes the latest deal with guard Lane Taylor, who signed a two-year, $4.15 million contract on Tuesday.
The Packers are officially $20,642,816 under the 2016 salary cap of $155,270,000,... https://t.co/gkp9n9IK30 pic.twitter.com/MtvzLrwOhU
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 9, 2016
Of the 496 players who became free agents on Wednesday, the Packers had 13 of them. They were: T Don Barclay, LS Brett Goode, CB Casey Hayward, WR James Jones, FB John Kuhn, OLB Andy Mulumba, OLB Mike Neal, OLB Nick Perry, TE Andrew Quarless, NT B.J. Raji, S Sean Richardson, RB James Starks and QB Scott Tolzien. Mulumba was not offered a restricted free agent tender. The rest were unrestricted free agents.
