Free agents that could help the Packers – offense

As I continue to look forward, the next step in the NFL offseason is free agency which begins in March. Here is a look at some players I think could help the Packers on offense.

While the Packers are probably not interested, there are some good running backs available. Michael Turner, Jamal Lewis and Julius Jones are three players that would be an upgrade over incumbent Ryan Grant. I’m not sold on Grant and if the price was reasonable I could see going after Jones. At the very least the competition would be good for Grant and an new environment might be just the thing for Jones to return to his 1000-yard form of two years ago.  Turner is going to require franchise-type money and the Packers aren’t that desperate with Grant on the roster and while Lewis would be intriguing, you just don’t know what you are going to get with a guy with that much milage. Look at Ahman Green last year, the Texans got about 250 yards out of a former dominating runner. I would like to see Jones added. You can’t stand pat with Grant and Brandon Jackson, competition must be added and Jones would do just that. It would be an interesting battle between two former Notre Dame teammates. Jones won that round, maybe Grant could beat him out now, it would be fun to watch.

There are some interesting receivers available in guys like Bernard Berrian and Patrick Crayton, but if there is one area I think the Packers can stand pat in it would be receiver. With Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin, the Packers deepest position is arguably wide receiver. At tight end you might want some help but the only guy the Packers might be interested in is Marcus Pollard from Seattle, but he is 35 and probably not worth the risk. Maybe Ben Troupe would be of some interest. He was a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2004 and caught 55 balls as a rookie, but hasn’t done squat since due mostly to injuries. I would think they take a look at him at least. But the Pack might just look for a tight end on draft day instead. I have to believe Bubba Franks days as a Packer have come to an end as well.

The one area the Packers need improvement on the most is the offensive line. Everybody knows about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Alan Faneca, who might be the best available free agent at any position. Faneca would immediately upgrade the Packers’ line by sending the inconsistent Daryn Colledge to the bench once and for all. The price tag may be too much for general manager Ted Thompson to absorb, but I sure hope he at least tries, especially if Brett Favre comes back. If you are going to make a one-year run with Favre, start with improving the offensive line. Jake Scott of Indianapolis would also be a nice addition, but the Colts will likely have something to say about that, because like the Packers, they like to keep their own. Ruben Brown of the Bears might come cheap and would be an upgrade for sure. As you can see, I’m focused on the guard position. I’m happy with Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton at tackle. Replacements need to be groomed however as both tackles are getting long in the tooth.

Thursday I will run down the free agents on defense. The Packers could use a few of those as well.

More to come…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 10:24 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Pete H

    Hey Al, I like your ideas for offense, although living in Bear country i’ve gotten to see Brown and I don’t want any part of him. Wahle is also a fre agent and might come back cheap after disappointing Carolina, but I too want Faneca. If there is a year to use free agency for Thompson, its this year. As for TE, if they can get Bubba to take a paycut then I wouldn’t mind keeping him around, but I don’t like the free agents out there any better. that would be a draft spot. Lee does a fine job in the passing game, but isn’t the run blocker that Bubba is. I also wouldn’t mind seeing some competition at running back, but I worry that Turner and Jones may cost too much for the upgrade that you would get, especially with the holes that absolutely need to be filled. Faneca, Faneca, Faneca

  • http://n/a Packerpete

    I will focus on TE. Lee looks to be an option as a reciever, but I believe Bubba is done. There are younger options for a road grader TE from the draft, and his pass catching days seem finished. The desperation draft day move of taking the UMiami TE simply because a pervert injured his neck would seem to be over.

    I would favor giving Eric Johnson a chance in training camp to be the recieving threat the Packers need at the TE position. I am uncertain about the draft day talent for pass catching TE’s this year, so a dip into the shallow FA waters might be advisable.

    BTW, Hi Al, long time no talk.

  • Mr. B

    I guess Jon forgot about the 200 yards and change Ryan picked up against the Seahawks. I don’t blame Ryan for the 29 yards against the Giants. I blame the play calling (He didn’t get the ball enough) and the lack of blocking. As Pete H said, “Faneca, Faneca, Faneca.”

  • JeffN

    I’m in favor of giving Grant some competition. Although I think Grant is the man, if they do bring Jones in it should make Grant a better RB. Yeah they need 1 more TE but I think that will come from the draft. You sure they don’t already have the left guard of future on the team already? I’m not talking College… somewhere in there they might have a crafty TT pick from a past draft that is sitting there waiting to bust out.

  • JeffN

    Jon, I was in the middle of typing a response to your post about your 29 yards rant. Then I erased it all and thought let’s talk about the future not the negative past. I don’t think most people want to kick a dead horse anymore. Just my opinion, let it go man, we talked about all that already.

  • D C

    I’m hoping Thompson brings in Wahle this week. Wahle is agile and would fit the scheme very well. My hunch is that Wahle will have be signed by someone in under 2 weeks.

    They say an o-line needs to be familiar with each other. Clifton and Wahle worked together enough times to know each other’s tendencies. Seems like a great fit. Since the Packers wouldn’t need to keep a TE and RB in the backfield to block, the game plan would be much more open.

  • Jeff

    I’m with Al (except that I don’t care who is at QB), stock the line. Whether Favre comes back or not, offensive dominance starts on the line. It’s a true testament to just how good the Packers might become that we went 13-3 and took the eventual Super Bowl champs into OT with this o-line.

    But maybe we’re all judging too quickly on this one. How often was Favre sacked this past year? The Giants tagged Brady a whole lot more than they got Favre. Yeah, the interior guys need to step up, and we need to look at developing new tackles.

    But given that these guys made our 38 year old Favre one of the least sacked QBs last year while we had little real run game for much of the season, I wonder if we’re not tossing the baby with the bath water.

  • Jon

    My opinion is best expressed by this prediction: “Lions end their 16-game Lambeau losing streak by winning 24-17.”

  • Jimm G

    So much for Wahle, he signed with Seattle. I think we can all agree that we need at least one guard and a tight end on offence. If my memory serves the coaches were high on Allen Barbre at guard and wasn’t Tory Humphrey supposed to challenge for a tight end spot before he got hurt? They could be possible answers if the coaches are still high on them. I agree that Grant needs a challenger, I don’t think anyone on the roster will provide that so Jones would make sense, two backs isn’t uncommon and it helps the injury problem should it hit. I think we should take the best available player and look at what’s available in free agency, we aren’t far off but we do need depth and receiver seems to be the only position of strength on offence. The Favre issue will work itself out and none of us will have a say so let’s leave it alone. If he comes back and we win great, if he doesn’t and we lose many of you will say he should have stayed; what do we know we are just fan, if we were so smart we’d be getting paid for our opinions.

  • Roy Jamison

    Wahle had too many miles on his tires for the price of picking him up. I wouldn’t expect TT to deviate too much from his strategy of building from the draft. I don’t expect him to pay big bucks for someone’s castoff. TT is a bargain hunter and he is good at it. I was among the million who criticized him for disposing of Wahle, but looking back it was the right thing to do. You can’t pay that kind of money at that position. If Coston would have stayed healthy I think the combo of he and Spitz would be adequate. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pack picked up a OT or CB in the first round. I don’t see bringing Bubba back even at a reduced price tag.

  • Jimm G

    I don’t agree with letting Bubba go, although I do agree he should have his deal restructured. He is an experienced commodity that can help in the locker room if no where else. Who would take his place? I think he should be brought back at least through training camp to see if anyone can displace him, no one could this year and that isn’t saying much for anyone. Just my two cents.

  • matt i

    this year is a big year for running backs in the draft with all the juniors coming out of college early. so going for a pricey “let go” from other teams at this position sounds a little dumb to me. i hope we get a big back, a grinder. grant is a versitile back, big and fast, and jackson is smaller and bit speedy. but no one is a true grinder and thumper. faneca would be sweet, and if we have the money lets sign him for a 4 year deal if we can. a friend of mine played with barbre in college, very fast for such a big boy. i would like to see him develop. id really like to keep corey williams, dt is a place i think we should really keep depth. there is a lot of corner backs in this draft, and i think we should get one. the backups we have have shown some great skill but another would be nice. i agree we need some youth at OT too.

  • Jimm G

    I read an article about DJ Duckett being available; he could be a “grinder” to go along with Grant. I don’t know if I would want to depend on another rookie to fix our running problem but I don’t think Duckett is the answer either. I do think if there is a good running back available we should pick him up but not on the premise that he is the “answer”. I’ve seen a lot of people write that Faneca is the answer at guard but does anyone think that Thompson is going to put up the cash to sign him? He is a ten year guy that will command a lot of money; I don’t see him in Green Bay, not as a guard. I would not be surprised to see either Coston or Barbre play opposite Spitz and draft a guard.

  • JeffN

    I like the thought of Jones and Feneca coming to Green Bay. However after I think about that one for a few minutes I come to the realization that TT is just going to keep working the draft and stay away from free agents. Which is cool because he has built a 13-3 team out of it. Still fun to talk about who might possibly end up in Green Bay.

  • Lare

    I don’t see TT making any offensive FA moves, he just doesn’t do that. He adds players through the draft or with UFAs.

  • darrin

    ya we can’t depend on ryan grant he had maybe half a good year ya improving our offensive line would be good. I thnk we need to get a DT like free agent marcus stroud the guy would be huge for us then selecting a wr or even a corner in the draft why not pick up Daunte Cullpeper arron rogers is not a good fit at green bay he sucks whenever i watch him play we need someone that has played and i feel bret has came to an end in his career.

  • matt i

    Darrin, are you serious? Grant had the second most yards in the second half of the season, he only started the second half of the season. only LT had more yards, and all they do is run. 7 games started, 8 touchdowns, 956 yards, 5.1 avg. plus he set the packers post season record for yards in a single game, and three touchdowns.
    we do need more depth and a better gaurd on the line. why get stroud when we just released williams. plus stroud got in trouble with steroids last year. why do we need another wide reciever? dont think we have enough? the fab five? Daunte cullpeper is a scrambler, we dont run that type of offense, and he is not a leader. vikings takes our old guys not us theirs. Rogers is pretty darn good, he does have trouble staying healthy, but Darrin did you watch the Dallas game at all? i think he did very well, fits our sceme nicely. Brett at the end of his career? maybe but he can still play, at a very high level. anyone can tell watching him play this year.