The Green Bay Packers have roughly $34.5-million in salary cap room heading into free agency and there's hardly a Packers fan alive that doesn't want GM Ted Thompson (pictured) to spend some of that money on a big name. The problem is, after the designation of 14-franchise tags around the league, there's not a lot of big name players available.
It would be nice if the Packers would be active in trying to acquire those defensive players that are worthy of a decent contract, given the teams need to develop a 3-4 defensive scheme.
Ted Thompson has been successful when he's gone the free agent route. He most recently acquired LB Brandon Chillar as a free agent buyer and was rock solid before that with the additions of Ryan Pickett and Charles Woodson.
The Packers don't need to go hog wild and they certainly don't need to sign any offensive free agents. But a player or two on defense would be a good start towards improving a defense that was a major disappointment a year ago. After a 6-10 season, it's not a time to be the youngest team in the league again. Ted Thompson needs to find a way to get it done and free agency, while it's not the entire answer, it can certainly be a part of the solution.