Timeline Emerges For Possible Start To Free Agency
There is a very real possibility that free agency and training camp could begin at the same time. Buckle up.
By PackerAaron
With almost everyone associated with the NFL thinking both the league and the players will be voting on a new proposal by the end of the week, details are starting to emrge on what the post-lockout madness will look like.
First, Judy Battista of the New York Times reports that teams have been told to be prepared to have execs available in Atlanta after the owners vote for a seminar to go over all the key points of the new deal. This seminar would be scheduled to go into Friday.
Next, Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal reports that teams will be given three days to get up to speed on the new rules (presumably when the seminar will be taking place) and then an additional three days to negotiate with their own pending free agents and, most importantly for Ted Thompson and the Packers, sign undrafted free agents.
Only after this period would traditional free agency begin, with many observers circling Thursday, July 28th as the most likely starting date. This would be incredibly close to the beginning of most training camps but, as of now, it sounds like they are seriously thinking of having this free agency period and the start of training camps happen right on top of each other.
While the Packers aren't traditionally big players in free agency under Thompson, these unique wrinkles could potentially lead to guys that were presumed to be long gone (James Jones, Brandon Jackson) might have a better shot at sticking around.
Regardless of how this all shakes out, one thing is clear - it is going to be a crazy "Welcome Back"-period whenever football returns.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Comments (7)
July 18, 2011 at 02:48 pm
Jackson sticks.
Due a $1 million roster bonus on day 15 of the league year, Ryan Grant has perhaps played his last down in Green Bay.
He's a good man but it's a numbers game.
July 18, 2011 at 02:57 pm
So you would get rid of the guy who IS under contract and sign a guy who ISN'T over a piddly million bucks? That doesn't make sense.
Especially since with the release of Barnett and Jenkins (not a guarantee, but pretty close) they'll have the room in their cap.
Also, Grant is, by far, the better runner.
July 18, 2011 at 03:43 pm
Not an issue of Jackson vs. Grant.
An issue of Starks vs. Grant, then Grant's salary moving forward vs. Jackson.
July 18, 2011 at 04:35 pm
Green is here to replace Jackson, that is the hope. He played in a Hawaii offense and in a conference where passing is king, so hopefully he'll be a very decent 3rd down back, meaning Jackson is gone. The only scenario I can see where grant is released is if he proves to be too rusty and green+Starks show they are far better. Dobt forget the possibility of a UFA coming in and stealing the show as a fan favorite either, u need only look back at the last few years to see examples of that (porter, lumpkin, gado)
July 18, 2011 at 02:54 pm
So does that mean that we'll actually be able to start talking about X's and O's and player performance? Oh happy day!!
July 18, 2011 at 04:09 pm
I know TT is usually very quiet in free agency, but I wonder if we could see him acting irregularly in such an irregular year of free agency. Looking at the list of who's eligible for free agency this year (after so many people got rolled over with the CBA extension last year) I wonder if some players who might otherwise have cost big money could lose value because the market will be so saturated. Not that the team has a lot of positions that need fortifying, but it will be interesting to see if they find enough value in anyone out there to make a move.
July 18, 2011 at 04:36 pm
In any other year maybe, but we have previous little cap space to work with, and guys such as CM3 and Finley will be demanding monster contracts