Ok so being the reining Super Bowl Champions and having a lot of work to do on next year’s roster is probably a pretty good problem to have. Normally the Super Bowl champs are a little bit behind the ball on getting their free agents sorted out before the start of a new league year. This year that doesn’t seem likely to happen as labor strife will certainly stall all things not named the NFL draft. So the Packers front office doesn’t get much time to relish in their victory as there is much work to be done.
The first and foremost thing they must decide is which free agents are worth bringing back and who should be shown the door. Not exactly an easy process on a team that won its final game of the 2011 NFL playoffs. Safety Atari Bigby is likely gone; he played in just four games in 2010 and had no stat line to speak of. The Packers will need to inject some youth in their defensive secondary. Many also feel that Guard Jason Spitz will be gone as well.
The front office needs to get a new deal done with AJ Hawk. He is owed 10 million bucks for the 2011 season, and their is no way this organization can allow him to hit the free agent market. They must also decide the future of DE Cullen Jenkins who will be a free agent. The team is not going to want to pay market price for a guy his age, but that is a really tough argument.
This team must also find new deals for key components of their team such as WR James Jones and Kicker Mason Crosby. As well as role players like RB Brandon Jackson and Safety Charlie Peprah.
Related Links:
- Green Bay Packers news and notes
- The Business of the NFL
- Joshua Lobdell.com
