The Green Bay Packers' Bargain Guide to the 2015 Offseason

As we head into the 2015 NFL offseason, the Green Bay Packers have a number of decisions to make about their own free agents. The good news is that the team is in excellent financial shape regarding the reported amount the 2015 salary cap will be.

Why? The Packers opened the 2014 NFL season by being almost $8 million below the cap. The Packers have always been wise with the salary cap, at least since Ted Thompson started running the front office.

Russ Ball, vice president of football administration and player finance, has done a superb job keeping the Packers in great shape cap-wise. So did his predecessor, Andrew Brandt.

The Packers have to make decisions on 14 of their free agents, and it is expected the Packers will be able to keep the key players on that list, including offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga and wide receiver Randall Cobb.

Team President Mark Murphy was very optimistic about the financial viability of the Packers in a recent story by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"The cap is projected to grow," Murphy said. "We have a pretty good idea of what it's going to be."

Murphy also thinks the Packers can sign both Bulaga and Cobb without doing any long-term damage to the team's salary cap.

"Yeah, I think so," he said of signing both Bulaga and Cobb. "It's a credit to Ted and (in) particular Russ Ball that we manage it (the cap) well and we're in good shape. We're hopeful, but you really never know how things are going to play out. I know there's been dialogue, but I don't know about recently."

Besides their own free agents, the Packers might even utilize signing free agents from other teams. It's rare when that happens, especially under Thompson, but it does happen from time to time.

Thompson also likes to focus on talented veteran players who have been released by their former teams during the offseason. Thompson was able to sign both Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers that way.

Besides the free-agency issues, the Packers are going to do what they have always done under Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy. They will continue to use the NFL draft to add the bulk of talent to the team and develop those players to become even better.

I'm going to list three positions the Packers will be affected by in free agency and how they can best utilize the draft and free agency to help add to the quality depth of that position while still maintaining a comfortable salary cap.

Inside Linebacker

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At the inside linebacker position for the Packers, I expect the team to release both A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones at some point in the near future. The team can save $7.25 million against the cap by releasing them based on the numbers provided by spotrac.com.

By releasing both Hawk and Jones, and by possibly not re-signing Jamari Lattimore, who is a unrestricted free agent, the Packers will certainly need to add depth to the position.

Sam Barrington looks to be a starter at one of the inside linebacker positions for the team, and while Clay Matthews did move inside on running downs in the second half of the 2014 season, I expect him to play mostly outside in 2015.

The Packers also have Carl Bradford and Joe Thomas to compete for playing time.

I expect the Packers to utilize the 2015 NFL draft to add talent at the position. There should be some nice talent available to the Packers at the 30th pick of the first round. I recently wrote about three of those prospects.

The Packers also might consider drafting another inside linebacker much later in the draft or by adding an undrafted rookie free agent. One name the Packers might consider in that situation is former Wisconsin Badger Derek Landisch.

Landisch played inside linebacker in the 3-4 defensive scheme at Wisconsin and was productive in 2014. The 6'0", 230-pound Landish had 83 tackles, nine sacks and one interception.

In terms of adding a free agent from another team, the Packers might want to consider David Harris of the New York Jets. Although Harris is 31 years old, he is still productive and knows the 3-4 scheme well.

Last season, Harris had 123 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He has also been consistent through his eight-year career. Harris has also been durable, as he has not missed a game in six straight seasons.

If the cost is not too extravagant, the Packers might consider someone like Harris, at least for a short-term deal.

Nose Tackle

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At nose tackle, I think the Packers won't have to overspend for depth. The Packers should be able to bring back both Letroy Guion and B.J. Raji, who are both unrestricted free agents.

Guion signed a one-year deal with the Packers last year for $1 million and had a nice impact on defense in 2014. In fact, the team was working on re-signing Guion to a new deal, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.

But that situation was clouded by Guion's arrest Tuesday night in Florida for possession of pot.

That situation certainly won't help Guion at the negotiating table if the Packers still decide to pursue him, which is not a given depending on how this all shakes out.

Raji signed a one-year deal for $4 million in 2014, before he was lost for the season with a torn biceps.

The market should not be too active for Raji due to his injury, and I expect he will be back with the team in 2015 for perhaps an even cheaper price.

If the Packers do indeed re-sign both Guion and Raji, don't expect the team to look at any other interior defensive linemen in free agency.

The Packers also have some additional depth at the position with Khyri Thornton, whom the Packers drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft and spent the season on injured reserve.

I also expect the Packers to look to the 2015 NFL draft to add even more depth at the position. Which round is hard to say, as Thompson usually goes by drafting the best player on his board at the time the Packers pick.

Cornerback

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The cornerback position will be a slippery slope for the Packers to make some financial decisions on. The Packers have three cornerbacks who are unrestricted free agents: Tramon Williams, Davon House and Jarrett Bush.

Both Williams and House received extensive playing time at corner in 2014, while Bush played primarily on special teams, where he is considered to be among the best on the team in that area.

Williams is the sixth-highest-paid player on the team, with a salary of $8.25 million. There is no way the Packers bring back Williams, who will be 32 in March, at that price.

If Williams decides to come back for about half of that salary, the Packers would likely be very interested in keeping him.

No. 38 had a career year in 2010, when he was named to the Pro Bowl. He picked off six passes in the regular season, plus three more in the postseason (including one for a touchdown).

A strained shoulder limited his performance and production in 2011 and 2012, but Williams has bounced back to have two straight solid seasons.

House has talent and size but seems to be injured too often. If his asking price is too high, I would expect the Packers to opt to keep Williams. I don't see them keeping both House and Williams.

The Packers recently fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum, and the team will do everything in its power to improve the overall play of special teams.

Green Bay finished 32nd in the NFL in the special teams rankings recently put out by Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News.

The special teams won't get better by having a player like Bush leave the team. Therefore, I expect the Packers to bring Bush back at a reasonable cost.

I also expect the Packers to draft another cornerback in the 2015 NFL draft, just like they did in 2014 when the team selected Demetri Goodson in the sixth round.