The Green Bay Packers are one of the few teams that have yet to sign an unrestricted free agent since the start of the new league year.
A team tied by the salary cap found no bargains in positions of need, especially cornerback, so the wait continues.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, the Packers found “the price is too high” on several different options in the cornerback, a position the team has “explored” at the free agency.
Several of the top cornerbacks, including William Jackson, Shaquill Griffin, Ronald Darby and Patrick Peterson, have signed new deals worth $ 10 million or more a year.
Although the cornerbacks are flying out of the free agent plate, several still remain. Going on Friday, veterans like Richard Sherman, Adoree Jackson, Malcolm Butler, Janoris Jenkins and Xavier Rhodes are still available.
Packers can get involved as time goes by and prices drop.
The Chicago Bears will soon add Kyle Fuller to the group, but Huber’s source did not expect the Packers to be players of the former All-Pro. General manager Brian Gutekunst signed Fuller for an offer sheet in 2018, but the Bears agreed. Fuller will likely have a big market once he is officially a free agent.
The Packers lack the space to maneuver under the cover to take on a big contract, complicating things, even in a depressed free agent market. After having to make a series of moves to get below the limit, it always felt like a team in need of a bargain at the free agency.
The Packers brought back cornerback Chandon Sullivan to the right of the first refusal of the restricted contest, but Kevin King, a perimeter holder in recent years, is an unrestricted and unsigned free agent. It is not clear whether the Packers have any interest in returning King in 2021 or whether finding an upgrade over the 2017 up and down second round choice is a priority.
Finding the right veteran cornerback at the free agency can be a decision that will make a difference for the Packers’ 2021 defense. King, playing against the 2020 All-Pro Jaire Alexander, struggled with the volume of targets thrown at his cover. A real second place update in the cornerback could help the Packers turn from a good defense to an excellent defense this season.