Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Free Agent Safety Michael Huff To Visit The Packers

UPDATE: Huff ended up signing with the Ravens for three years and $6 million. That's not a lot, but it might be more than the Packers were even willing to offer. At the bottom of this post, I guessed that the Packers might offer three years and $5 million. With Huff out of the picture, is it possible the Packers might pursue another veteran safety?

Now that the first crazy days of free agency are over, the Green Bay Packers have become free agent buyers as players' demands become more reasonable.
There's absolutely no way that Huff will earn close to the $8 million he was scheduled to receive next season from the Raiders. Tom Silverstein wrote that "The Packers are probably looking to get Huff on the cheap knowing that he doesn't have a lot of options." That was my first thought too, after seeing that Huff's only other visits have been with the Cowboys (zero cap room) and the Ravens (who have been letting more free agents leave then they've signed).

There's a couple problems with this thought. First, the Packers don't usually sign veterans to provide depth. They look for rookies or young veterans like M.D. Jennings to provide depth and play on special teams. Second, Huff is probably better than Jennings. While he's not a great player, and he was overpaid by the Raiders, Huff can play a passable corner and he started at safety and cornerback last season. He could replace Jennings as the every down safety while S Jerron McMillian plays in the nickel like he did last season.

The Packers do have salary cap space available, and they currently aren't overpaying at the safety position; every safety on the roster is playing on their cheap rookie contract. If the Packers are offering a starting job and a contract similar to the one the Patriots just gave to S Adrian Wilson (three-years, $5 million), that might be enough to get the job done.

No comments: