Nice Packer Free Agency rundown

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-- Packers Free Agency Watch --
Wed Jun 22, 2011 --from FFMastermind.com​

ESPN reports the following is a preview of the Packers free agents and what might happen to them once the league year restarts. OG Daryn Colledge: Colledge is a veteran starter who has never missed a game due to injury, having started 83 of a possible 87 games including playoffs since being taken in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. But he’s also another player who was hoping for an extension last season but heard crickets from the front office instead. With up-and-coming alternatives like T.J. Lang and Nick McDonald, along with first-round pick Derek Sherrod, Colledge figures to get a better offer from another team in need of a starting guard. Odds of return: Very unlikely. WR James Jones: Jones may be the player that benefits most from the free-agent rules reverting back to the 2009 guidelines. Had he been a restricted free agent, the 2007 third-round pick might have returned, with the team having the right to match any offer after tendering him. Instead, if he’s unrestricted, the guess here is a receiver-poor team will pay him starter’s money, which will price him out of Green Bay. With WR Jordy Nelson’s late-season emergence and impending free agency after the 2011 season, along with the selection of receiver/returner Randall Cobb in the second round of the April draft, the only way Jones comes back is if the market just isn’t there for him. Odds of return: Unlikely. PK Mason Crosby: Speaking at Driver’s annual charity softball game, Crosby sounded like a player who expects to be back in Green Bay, and while other teams may see his career field-goal accuracy (78.1 percent) and shy away from him, the Packers seem to like his strong leg and deep range. Plus, he’s only 26 and certainly has room to improve. Odds of return: Likely. RB Brandon Jackson: Jackson’s prospects might be the most difficult to gauge. He didn’t exactly seize his opportunity as the starter when Ryan Grant was lost for the season in Week 1, although the coaches hardly gave him a fair shake at being the every-down back. With Grant returning from his ankle injury, James Starks having been a late-season revelation and the team using a third-round pick on Hawaii’s Alex Green, there are signs that Jackson won’t return. Then again, given his blitz-pickup ability – the best by far on the team – and the importance of protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ passing game, the Packers may view him as more valuable than other teams will. Odds of return: 50-50. FB John Kuhn: Kuhn was the team’s jack-of-all-trades last year and became a fan favorite when he filled in as the featured back at times. While he was something of a novelty act, the flashes he showed at halfback were legit. That said, it seems unlikely that another team will like Kuhn as much as the Packers do. Odds of return: Likely. FB Korey Hall: Hall is vital to the special-teams units but if Kuhn does return, Hall could depart. While Quinn Johnson is viewed as a better battering-ram of a fullback, he hasn’t exactly earned his roster spot his first two years, making it on potential more than production. That said, with a bevy of tight ends, the Packers could decide to end their practice of carrying three fullbacks and use the extra roster spot on an addition tight end who can also take Hall’s spot on special teams. Odds of return: 50-50. S Atari Bigby: After two injury-plagued seasons, Bigby seemed resigned at the end of the season that he’d be playing elsewhere in 2011. While motivated to get back to the form he showed as a starter during the 2007 stretch run, when he was a difference-maker and a tone-setter with his big hits, the injuries have led to him missing 26 of 53 possible games over the last three years and have likely taken their toll. Plus, given the chance to re-sign a safety, the team went after Charlie Peprah instead. Odds of return: Very unlikely. OL Jason Spitz: Another talented but oft-injured player, Spitz lost his starting center job to Scott Wells because of a back injury suffered early in the 2009 season and has been persona non grata ever since. A smart player who some thought was on his way to Pro Bowl status, he now looks like the odd man out. Unless he finds the market to be unexpectedly soft for him – or the back injury, which required surgery, remains a problem – he’ll likely sign elsewhere with a chance to start. Odds of return: Unlikely. S Anthony Smith: Cut at the end of camp in 2009 in one of GM Ted Thompson’s rare mistakes, Smith returned via trade but wound up on injured reserve last season. Having played in the 3-4 scheme in Pittsburgh under safeties coach Darren Perry, he kept his nose clean and mouth shut during his time in Green Bay after New England’s Tom Brady embarrassed him with the Steelers after foolish trash-talk. He could re-sign and compete for a job in training camp if he finds no takers on the market. Odds of return: Unlikely. LB Matt Wilhelm: Wilhelm was one of the players who jumped onto the Super Bowl express at midseason as injuries piled up. He saw time on special teams and was a good addition to the locker room, but younger, better players are already on the roster. Odds of return: As good as gone. CB Josh Bell: The team said everything it needed to about Bell when he didn’t get a Super Bowl ring last week. When he turned down an injury settlement following his training-camp broken foot, the Packers apparently weren’t amused that he chose to spend the year in injured reserve instead. Odds of return: Gone.