The Green Bay Packers have the luxury of being about $32 million under the salary cap. Two years from now, either they won’t have that luxury or they won’t be fielding a credible team.
The free-agent class following the upcoming season is manageable: Offensive tackle Mark Tauscher and linebacker Brady Poppinga are the only starters who will be unrestricted free agents.
The following offseason, however, will be a different story. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, guards Jason Spitz and Daryn Colledge, offensive tackle Chad Clifton and receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings will be unrestricted free agents after the 2009 season.
And that’s just the offensive side of the ball.
Three-fourths of what could be the Packers’ starting defensive line this season — defensive tackles Ryan Pickett and Johnny Jolly and defensive end Aaron Kampman — will be free agents, as will safety Nick Collins, among others.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson has taken a proactive approach, frequently giving long-term extensions to players before they hit free agency. Tauscher is probably tops on his list, even though he’ll turn 31 before training camp.
Here is a list of the Packers’ key free agents.
2008
Punter Jon Ryan (restricted)
Offensive tackle Mark Tauscher
Defensive end Michael Montgomery (restricted)
Safety Atari Bigby (restricted)
Defensive tackle Colin Cole
Linebacker Brady Poppinga
2009
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Cornerback Will Blackmon
Safety Nick Collins
Guard Jason Spitz
Guard Daryn Colledge
Defensive end Aaron Kampman
Offensive tackle Chad Clifton
Defensive tackle Ryan Pickett
Wide receiver Donald Driver
Wide receiver Greg Jennings
Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly
2010
Defensive end Cullen Jenkins
Wide receiver James Jones
Kicker Mason Crosby
2011
Cornerback Al Harris
Linebacker A.J. Hawk
Center Scott Wells
Tight end Donald Lee
2012
Cornerback Charles Woodson
Linebacker Nick Barnett
Defensive tackle Justin Harrell
Steve Lawrence is a frequent contributor to PackerReport.com. E-mail him at steve_lawrence_packers@yahoo.com