Green Bay Packers NFL 2015 Free Agent News, Rumors: Why the Packers Avoid Big Spending in Free Agent Market
The Green Bay Packers have never been big players in the free agent market. Since free agents have become more important in the NFL, the Packers can count their big free agent acquisitions on one hand -- Reggie White, Charles Woodson, and Julius Peppers. Instead, the team believes in drafting well and developing the players they already have.
With $21 million in cap space, and after losing big name free agents Davon House and Tramon Williams, it would seem the Packers should make a move or two to add something to the core of their team. So far, however, they remain absent from the free agent market.
"You got to coach the ones that are here. You have to build it off the guys who are on the board right now. That's the way we've always done it." Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said.
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While it is admirable and rather rare in sports today, the Packers approach has made their roster a perennial contender in the NFC North. However, it seems odd that a NFL team with money to spend would close itself off so fully from one of the many ways to improve their team. Drafting and developing players is the cheapest way to build a contender, but every roster can benefit from an infusion of a well-developed and seasoned talent.
The Packers philosophy always waits for very rare talent before shelling out for big contracts in free agency.
The Packers use their allotted draft picks to find the guys their coaching staff can coach up. They use their allotted cap space to keep their players in their system and they carefully avoid a lot of the pitfalls that trap other teams. For example the Packers have just $3 million in dead money, which further indicates that they make steady calculated moves with all of their talent.
