NFL Free Agency 2019: 5 Mistakes the Green Bay Packers must avoid
5. Get into a bidding war over the wrong players
The Packers aren’t set up with the most cap space in free agency, but they do have a good amount available. However, with that good amount, they have to manage who they choose to target aggressively and who they choose to go sign with other teams.
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The elite free agents are going to have obviously high price tags, but it’s the players in that medium tier that are the important ones to know when to walk away from the table.
Guys like Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith and Markus Golden are all solid options at the EDGE rusher spot, but they aren’t in the Ezekiel Ansah or Justin Houston class. Those secondary guys are going to cost a ton of money, but, when teams miss out on them, they will turn towards those secondary options to fill the needs. If Green Bay is able to convince one of those guys to sign at their number, they can’t get overzealous if that player has a better offer.
The Packers have always managed their cap space very well, and a major part of that has been by managing their free agency pursuits effectively. Gutekunst made his first foray last year, and the rumors have already circulated that he’s going to look to address the EDGE rusher position in free agency this year.
Green Bay needs to know where its top number is, and they can’t go over that just to land a player at a position of need.