Leftovers

The draft is approaching fast and there are still a few of the top 100 free agents out there hoping to latch on to a new team. With The Ted ignoring the desperate pleas of Aaron Rodgers to make this an "all-in" offseason by bringing in no impact players and evidently drawing the "incensement" of the Packers coaching staff by letting Pro Bowl right guard T.J. Lang go to the Lions it certainly has been an eventful pre-draft period for not the right reasons.

With an obsession for tight ends and only a passing fancy to replace Lang The Ted has left the Packers in their worse position since before The Ted was brought in to repair the damage Mike Sherman had done.

The Ted signed Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks to replace tight end Jared Cook. The media and the public were told contract talks were broken off and when it comes to The Ted that usually means the player asked for too much money.

But in this case Cook signed with the Raiders for a 2-year, $12.2 million dollar contract while Bennett was signed to a 3-year, $21 million contract, which is about a million dollars more, so it couldn't be about money. I wonder what the reason was, but we will never know because transparency is not the watch word for The Ted's Front Office. I bet you will find the visitor logs to 1265 Lombardi Avenue are also unavailable now. It seems the Packers Front Office can be called the White House North.

Well, back to what's left of free agency. After all the moves The Ted did over the past few weeks the Packers desperately need a starting right guard and a starting running back on offense and a starting cornerback, two starting inside linebackers, and a new defensive coordinator on defense.

As of Monday night (April 24) there are still viable starters remaining in the free agency market. Chargers cornerback Brandon Flowers is the highest ranked free agent at his position. The tandem of Davon House and Flowers would be an upgrade for Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter.

Flowers had 20 interceptions over 6 years with the Chiefs before spending the last 3 years with the Chargers. His time with the Chargers wasn't productive with only 1 interception. He played in only 6 games last year because of a concussion. He was released, in part, because the fourth year of his 4-year, $36 million dollar contract was more than the Chargers wanted to pay for a No. 3 corner. He could be got for a very reasonable 1-year contract.

Former Raven cornerback Shareece Wright is also still out there. He had 6 pass defensed with 52 tackles in 9 starts last year. He would also be an upgrade to the position.

Also on defense 49ers inside linebacker Gerald Hodges is the last one available. He had 83 tackles with 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble in 10 starts last year. I'm not one of the Kool-Aid drinkers who think Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez are future All-Pros. I think Ryan and Martinez are "light-weights", who make too many "A.J. Hawk" tackles (meaning downfield instead of at the point of attack). Because of ineffective play and injuries another "light-weight" Joe Thomas, the 3rd down inside linebacker, because a full-time starter by the end of the season. The Packers need a hard-hitting physical inside linebacker in the worst way.

There are 4 running backs still in the market led by future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson and former 1,000 yarder Jamal Charles. However, it seems Peterson is close to signing with the Saints and Charles is a mere shadow of his former self. Former Patriot LeGarrette Blount is still available despite coming off a career season with 1,161 yards rushing and 18 TDs. For some reason he wanted to test the market and seems he might re-sign to a very undervalued contract since he still available. I think he and Ty Montgomery would be a great 1-2 punch.

Steeler DeAngelo Williams is also still available. He is coming off a terrible season after rushing for almost a 1,000 yards and 11 TDs the year before. He might be an upgrade over Christine Michael.

Also on offense former Giant Victor Cruz is available. He is coming off 3 injury plagued seasons, so he could be signed for the veteran minimum with incentives. If he is right he could make the Packers wide outs 5-deep and the best in the league. I think he is worth a look.

Back on defense former No. 1 pick Mario Williams is still available. He would be worth a try to replace Julius Peppers even though he is on the down-side with only 6.5 sacks the last 2 seasons.

I think there is still value out there to be signed before the draft. However, I don't think The Ted will sign anyone. He has moved on to his favorite hobby. Let's hope he finds 4 starters in his first 4 picks. He needs to  hit it big with a guard, a cornerback, an inside linebacker and a running back, in that order.