Top 10 NFL Free Agents the Green Bay Packers Must Sign
In terms of free agency in 2015, I expect Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers to do what they normally do during the free-agent period. That would be to sign their own free agents first and foremost.
The team should have plenty of cap room to do so based on the article Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote recently.
The Packers would have around $30 million to utilize if the team would release both A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones from the squad. Between the two inside linebackers, cutting them would save the team $7.25 million.
I talked about why that will probably happen in an earlier article I wrote.
Thompson talked to the media on Thursday and said signing his own players is a goal of the team.
"We’re working on several different levels with several different people," Thompson said. "Like I say, it’s no secret. We say the same thing every year, we mean it. It’s not a secret that we try to keep and maintain our own guys as much as possible. We feel like that’s a good investment for the organization."
Currently, the Packers have 14 free agents, with 11 of the players being unrestricted, while the other three are restricted.
So although the Packers will focus on and prioritize their own free agents, it's also possible that Thompson and Co. will sign a free agent from a different team or sign a player who was recently released by his team, making him a free agent.
That is how Thompson signed both Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers.
Thompson hinted that he might try to bring on a veteran from outside the Packers organization this offseason when he talked about his philosophy of adding talent to the team.
“We do what we do,” he said. “We’re going to try to use this draft class to add some youth and vitality and energy to our group. We’ll also, if we can, try to hang onto our veterans. And if we can, add some veteran leadership from outside the organization.”
I'm going to name the players the Packers should prioritize within their own organization in free agency plus talk about a few other players from outside the organization the Packers might consider as good fits for the team.
Offensive Tackle Bryan Bulaga
1 of 10
In terms of the Packers signing their own free agents, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga has to be one of the team's top two priorities—along with wide receiver Randall Cobb.
When healthy, Bulaga has been a solid right tackle, plus he has the ability to play left tackle as well, which is the position he played in college at Iowa.
Bulaga started as a rookie for the Packers at right tackle in 2010 after he took over for an injured Mark Tauscher in Week 5 of that season. The Packers won Super Bowl XLV that season, as well.
The injury bug has been the only issue with Bulaga, as he has missed 28 games in his five-year NFL career due to knee, hip and concussion issues.
But in 2014, Bulaga played in 15 out of a possible 16 games in the regular season and was part of the best offensive line the Packers have had in more than a decade.
I can't see the Packers allowing Bulaga to move on, especially since he can also play left tackle if something were to happen to starter David Bakhtiari.
Wide Receiver Randall Cobb
2 of 10
Randall Cobb had his best year ever as a pro in 2014, as he had 91 receptions for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season.
No. 18 also had 15 catches for 178 yards and one touchdown in the two postseason games the Packers played.
For his career as a Packer, Cobb has 227 catches for 3,049 yards and 25 touchdowns. Cobb can also be used as a running back at times, as he has 252 rushing yards in his career.
The former Kentucky standout is also a dangerous return man. He has a 25.9 kickoff-return average and one touchdown in his time as a Packer, and he has a 9.8 average as a punt returner and has scored two touchdowns that way.
According to a report by Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, Cobb started the negotiation volley with the Packers by asking for $9 million a year.
That would be similar to the deal fellow wide receiver Jordy Nelson signed last summer.
I see the Packers getting a deal done with both Cobb and Bulaga in the near future.
Cornerback Tramon Williams or Davon House
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The Packers have three cornerbacks who are unrestricted free agents: Tramon Williams, Davon House and Jarrett Bush. I expect the Packers will be able to sign two of those three players.
It will be Bush and either Williams or House, in my opinion.
It largely depends on the price Williams and House will ask for. Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a nice piece about Williams earlier in which Williams talked about all the obstacles he has overcome in his football career.
Williams has had a nice career in Green Bay, even as he is about to become 32 years old next month. In the last five seasons, Williams has started 79 out of a possible 80 games. He is definitely durable.
In his career, Williams has 115 passes defensed plus has 28 interceptions, with one of those being returned for a touchdown.
In the postseason, he has four more picks and had a pick-six in the 2010 postseason when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.
Williams was named to the Pro Bowl in 2010 but then suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener in 2011, which hampered his effectiveness for the next two seasons. But No. 38 has bounced back with two nice campaigns in 2013 and 2014.
While Williams is almost always available on Sundays, House has had a career checkered by injuries. In four years with the Packers, No. 31 has missed 24 games due to injuries.
House has good size (6'0", 195 lbs) and is effective when he is able to play. House seemed to be the only player in the secondary who matched up well against Julio Jones in the Week 14 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
House has two picks in his career as a Packer.
Based on the production and durability of both Williams and House, I would say Williams has the best chance of being signed by the Packers—especially if he takes about half of his current average salary of $8.25 million, based on the information compiled by Spotrac.com.
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Nose Tackle B.J. Raji
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While B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion are both unrestricted free agents for the Packers, the recent news about Guion clouds his future in Green Bay.
While there is still a chance the Packers re-sign Guion, Raji will become the top priority of the two players who play inside on the defensive line.
Last offseason, Raji was also an unrestricted free agent. No. 90 ended up signing a one-year deal for $4 million in 2014 before he was lost for the season with a torn biceps.
In the first three years of his career in Green Bay, Raji was strictly a nose tackle—and he was effective at that position. In 2010 and 2011 combined, he had 109 tackles, 9.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
In 2012 and 2013, Raji moved outside to defensive end most of the time and was not nearly as productive.
The plan in 2014 was to keep him at the nose, where he caused the most havoc in the trenches for the Packers. That would be the plan in 2015, as well.
I expect the Packers to re-sign Raji to a deal similar to the one he received last year.
Fullback John Kuhn
5 of 10
Fullback John Kuhn seems to get better with age. No. 30 will be 33 years old in 2015, but he will be coming off his second Pro Bowl appearance.
Not a lot of teams in the NFL utilize the fullback anymore, but the Packers sure do with Kuhn. He is the best blocking back on the team, plus he is a fixture on special teams.
Kuhn is an effective short-yardage back, and he has good hands out of the backfield.
In his career in Green Bay, he has rushed for 591 yards and 13 touchdowns and has caught 76 passes for 516 yards and eight more scores.
Kuhn also has four more rushing touchdowns in the postseason as well as three more touchdown receptions.
I expect the Packers to sign him to a short-term deal to stay in Green Bay.
Cornerback Jarrett Bush
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With the recent firing of special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum and the elevation of Ron Zook to that same position, expect the Packers to do everything they can to improve their play on special teams.
The Packers finished dead last in the special teams rankings from 2014 that Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News put out recently.
Between that situation and two key special teams debacles in the NFC title game, Slocum was shown his walking papers.
For special teams to get better in 2015, there will have to be changes with some of the players and some of the schemes.
One player who you don't want to see leave is Jarrett Bush. He is definitely the best player the Packers have on their coverage units. He is also the hardest worker I have seen for the Packers in training camp over the past few years.
Bush stays in phenomenal shape and can also play cornerback if needed. Coverage is not his strong suit, but he has made a number of big plays in the secondary, both in the regular season and the postseason for the Packers.
But his play on special teams is the primary reason I expect the Packers to re-sign Bush.
Offensive Lineman Don Barclay
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Don Barclay is the only restricted free agent the Packers have who is a priority. Barclay started 18 games at right tackle for them in 2012 and 2013 before having a season-ending knee injury last summer in training camp.
While Barclay can play effectively at right tackle, he does have issues at times with edge-rushers. The strong suit of Barclay is his run blocking.
Before he was injured in 2014, Green Bay expected Barclay to be the swing offensive lineman off the bench. Besides playing right tackle, the Packers have liked what they have seen of Barclay when he moves inside to play guard.
With the expected re-signing of Bryan Bulaga as a free agent, it would make sense to bolster that move by getting a new deal done with Barclay as well.
Not only would Barclay back up Bulaga at right tackle, but he would also be the No. 1 backup to both Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang at guard, too.
I expect the Packers to bring back Barclay without question.
Tight End Julius Thomas (Denver Broncos)
8 of 10
Although the Packers got decent production from both Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers at tight end, as the two combined for 49 catches and five touchdowns, Green Bay did not have a deep threat down the middle at the position.
It hasn't had that since Jermichael Finley was with the team.
That is why the Packers might be very interested in tight end Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos.
Denver has a list of some high-profile free agents this year, which includes Thomas, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and nose tackle Terrance Knighton (more on him later).
In the past two seasons with the Broncos, Thomas has had 152 catches for 1,277 yards and a whopping 24 touchdowns.
Add to that, there are no talks scheduled between the Broncos and their elite tight end, according to The Denver Post's Mike Klis.
Nose Tackle Terrance Knighton (Denver Broncos)
9 of 10
Before the recent arrest of Letroy Guion, I was expecting the Packers to re-sign both Guion and B.J. Raji to play in the middle of the defensive line for the Packers in 2015.
With the situation with Guion now a bit murkier, the Packers will look at an option from outside the organization who can also play the nose position along with Raji.
That player can be Terrance Knighton of the Denver Broncos. As noted in the previous slide, the Broncos have a number of high-profile free agents.
Knighton is not too thrilled with the negotiating process right now with the Broncos.
"To be quite honest with you, it's frustrating and it's somewhat disrespectful just knowing how important I was to the team and what the defense could've been without somebody like me," Knighton said, per ESPN.com. "It's almost like, the longer they wait, the worse it is going to be."
In the past two years with the Broncos, Knighton has played in all 32 games plus has 61 tackles and five sacks.
Nose Tackle Haloti Ngata or Linebacker Patrick Willis
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Neither nose tackle Haloti Ngata of the Baltimore Ravens nor inside linebacker Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers is an unrestricted free agent at the moment.
But that could change. Both the Raven and the 49ers are pretty tight up against the salary cap going into the 2015 NFL season, based on the numbers provided by Spotrac.com.
Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun mentioned in a recent story that Ngata might just end up being released. Ngata has been one of the best run-stuffing defensive linemen in the NFL over the past several years, as he was named to five straight Pro Bowls from 2009-2013.
If Ngata is released, it's likely the Packers would immediately put him on their radar, just like they did when the Chicago Bears released Julius Peppers last year. The Packers ended up signing Peppers to a three-year deal, and No. 56 had an exceptional first season in Green Bay.
The same thing might happen with Willis in San Francisco. Willis has been one of the best inside linebackers in the NFL the past number of years, as he was named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 2007-2013.
Willis is excellent in stopping the run but has also been exceptional in coverage.
But in 2014, the 49ers lost Willis for the season with a toe injury after he played in just six games. Willis was replaced by rookie linebacker Chris Borland, who then had a very nice season.
Like Ngata, if Willis is indeed released by San Francisco, the Packers would be interested if he is deemed healthy.
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