Well, we’ve reached the century mark for the 2010 free agency signing period. And, no, I’m not referring to the game where you drink 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. We at OBOD would NEVER condone such a game.
We are now 100 minutes into free agency. At this point, it seems like a good time to give an update on Green Bay’s three major unrestricted free agents.
The Packers were, of course, unable to come to terms with any of their unrestricted free agents before 11:01 p.m. Lambeau Time on Thursday. As I’m writing this, there’s nothing new to report as far as the respective fates of Aaron Kampman or Mark Tauscher. Rumors persist that Seattle and Philadelphia are set to make the biggest pushes for Kampman’s services, but he has yet to set up any visits.
As for Chad Clifton, well, things are heating up considerably as Yahoo! Sports is reporting he will visit with the Washington Redskins on Friday. That makes sense. Longtime left tackle Chris Samuels retired Thursday and the ‘Skins need a guy there, at least for the immediate future, and Clifton is probably the best unrestricted LT available. With the way Danny Snyder likes to spend his dough on free agents – especially aging ones – it’s a good bet Clifton will get an offer.
The Yahoo! story also says Clifton wants $7 mil a year, while the Packers were only offering $5 mil, and that he’d like at least $20 million over the first three years of any deal. Again, I fully expect Snyder to offer him that much, if not more. That being the case, here’s an idea of what the conversation between Ted Thompson and Clifton’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, will sound like:
Sexton: So, we got an offer. Three years, $22 million, with $9 million guaranteed. Wanna match?
Thompson: Enjoy D.C. (Click)
In other words, say goodbye to Clifton. The search for “Green Bay’s Next Left Tackle” can now officially begin.
-Chris Lempesis
Recent Comments