Packers' finances will allow re-signings
Green Bay - The time might come when the Green Bay Packers simply have too many good players in the prime of their careers and won't have the financial wherewithal to keep them.
That time won't be coming any time soon.
Packers President Mark Murphy is well aware that five starters and several key backups are to become unrestricted free agents in March and that general manager Ted Thompson likely will want to re-sign most of them.
But with the Packers well-positioned in terms of salary-cap flexibility and cash reserves, Murphy said Thompson won't be limited monetarily when it comes to shaping his roster in the next few years.
"There's no question in my mind we have the resources that are needed," Murphy said this week. "Our goal is to provide football with the resources they need to be competitive. Obviously, the biggest part of that is player salaries. Ted and Russ (Ball) really manage the cap well."
Since June 2009, the Packers have re-signed 13 players to major contract extensions. In that span of 26 months, they haven't signed a single unrestricted free agent or acquired a starting-caliber player by trade.
"We're trying to stay true to how we operate," said coach Mike McCarthy. "We want to draft them, develop them and we hopefully sign them. I think people are now seeing the plan.
"The first couple years, people weren't very patient with it. Now they've seen the development of these players and these guys getting second contracts. That's really our free agency."
Every now and then, the Packers have had an abundance of players at a position and have felt compelled to make a move.
In 2008, they traded Corey Williams and Brett Favre. In 2010, they let Aaron Kampman get away in free agency.
Last month, they let Cullen Jenkins follow in Kampman's footsteps as a free agent besides releasing a productive linebacker in Nick Barnett.
Jenkins' departure to Philadelphia on July 30 got the attention of everyone in the locker room.
"I was pretty upset just because of the fact he's a good, quality player and I wanted to keep the components of that Super Bowl team," defensive lineman B.J. Raji said. "But when you're a general manager you're not thinking of now. You're thinking of the future. Eventually, that decision will probably be a great one."
Some Super Bowl champions, most notably Baltimore a decade ago, managed their salary cap so poorly that they had to sacrifice solid starters and went through some tough seasons as a result.
Using a disciplined approach to player procurement and spending under cap specialist Andrew Brandt from 1999-2008 and Ball since, the Packers haven't had a true bloodletting and don't foresee one in the immediate future.
Despite all of the re-signings, the Packers rank 13th among the 32 teams in room under the salary cap at $10.757 million below their adjusted cap of $121.935 million. Elsewhere in the NFC North, Chicago is a healthy $19.224 million under, but Detroit ($1.262 million) and Minnesota ($451,354) have little breathing space.
"We've identified the right core players to enter into extensions with, and that's crucial," said Murphy. "There's always a little bit of a risk. Unlike the draft, where there's probably more risk because there's more different ways you can go wrong, with veterans at least you've seen them. The injuries are the hardest thing to predict."
From June 2009 to August 2010, the Packers re-upped Greg Jennings, Brandon Chillar, Chad Clifton, Nick Collins, Ryan Pickett, Mark Tauscher and Donald Driver. Only Chillar proved to be a mistake.
In the last year, Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams, Desmond Bishop, A.J. Hawk, Mason Crosby and James Jones have re-signed for lucrative amounts.
"Look around," Jordy Nelson said. "Guys get paid. But one thing the Packers definitely won't do is overpay. I think that's the No. 1 reason why they don't go out and get guys in free agency."
Seven months from now, 10 players on the current 87-man roster will have at least four accrued seasons and be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
"All I can say is Ted's a smart guy," said Raji. "He's going to set a priority list and then go from there. Whatever order that's in, it's up to him."
Of the five starters headed for the market, four are on offense: tight end Jermichael Finley, guard Josh Sitton, center Scott Wells and running back Ryan Grant.
Finley has talked about becoming the elite tight end in the National Football League. So far, injuries have limited him to 33 of a possible 53 games, counting playoffs.
If Finley does put up a spectacular season, he probably will seek to surpass San Francisco's Vernon Davis as the highest-paid tight end. There are seven players bunched between $7.35 million per year (Davis) and $6.25 million per year.
Sitton hasn't been to a Pro Bowl yet, either, but some scouts rate him as an honors candidate and the Packers' top offensive lineman. There are nine guards with contracts averaging at least $6 million, led by New Orleans' Jahri Evans at $8.1 million.
"I think Ted likes his guys," Sitton said. "If you perform and do what you're told and be a team player, then the rest will happen.
"It's a business. The option of free agency is out there after this year. But I would like to play here for a while."
Wells is in the final year of a five-year, $15 million extension he signed in November 2006. The Packers rate Wells and Sitton as their top two blockers. Wells will be 31 in January, but there is no ready-to-go replacement on the roster.
Currently, Wells ranks 16th among centers in average salary per year.
"I definitely think he's one of the best," Raji said. "So is (Sitton)."
Grant remains a magnificently conditioned athlete. However, he also will be 29 in December and plays a position at which teams have become less tolerant of financial risk.
Nelson is off to an excellent start in training camp and remains in a pack with Driver and Jones behind Jennings.
Driver has a $2.2 million roster bonus due in 2012, the final year of his contract. Driver's future will impact Nelson, who is playing like a starter in Green Bay or elsewhere.
"I'm not even thinking about that right now," said Nelson. "I'm here to play football."
The Packers are expected to retain Matt Flynn for protection behind Aaron Rodgers for a fourth season. By foreclosing on a trade now, they figure to lose him in March.
Five players no longer on the roster are eating up $2.793 million of cap space. They're Justin Harrell ($1.193 million), Barnett ($925,000), Chillar ($500,000), Tauscher ($100,000) and Brady Poppinga ($75,000).