Green Bay Packers
Free-agent defensive lineman Chris Canty traveled to Green Bay late last week but left town without a contract offer. His agent said that while he didn’t get an offer before he left, they still expect one to come in from the Packers soon. Since Canty was cut by his previous team, he does not need to wait until the official beginning of free agency, Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST, to sign with a new team.
Inside linebacker Brad Jones officially became a free agent last week and has yet to come to terms on a new deal with the Packers. Jones has already drawn interest from eight teams, according to his agent, Josh Wright. When starting inside linebackers Desmond Bishop and D.J. Smith were lost to injury at the start of the season, Jones was catapulted from special teams to starting 10 regular season games. Both Bishop and Smith may not be ready by training camp, so it would be in the Packers best interest to resign Jones before Tuesday.
Former St. Louis Rams’ running back Steven Jackson finally opted out of his contract after weeks of speculation. When it was first rumored he would end his tenure with the Rams, Green Bay was the first team linked to Jackson, and rightly so. The Packers’ offense would become instantly better and benefit greatly from the addition of the future hall of famer. Since then, talk has been very quiet on the subject, and it appears the Atlanta Falcons may now be the frontrunners for Jackson’s services.
Chicago Bears
Team captain and future Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher appears to be in talks with the Bears to return to the team for his 14th season in the league, all with Chicago. It will be interesting to see if a deal gets done before Tuesday’s deadline. Despite his age, it’s hard to imagine Urlacher won’t draw interest from a ton of teams. It’s also very hard to imagine him playing for anyone besides Chicago.
Former Tennessee Titans’ tight end Jared Cook looks to be headed for the open market after the Titans decided not to use the franchise tag on him. Cook has been constantly and intensely linked the the bears, which makes sense. Chicago has been in desperate need of more weapons for quarterback Jay Cutler since Greg Olsen departed two seasons ago. Cook would be a great fit under new head coach Marc Trestman’s system.
Detroit Lions
Safety Louis Delmas appears be headed for free agency, after visiting Detroit for a physical this weekend and leaving without a new contract. It’s unlikely a deal gets done by Tuesday and Delmas expects up to eight teams to be interested in his services.
Defensive End Cliff Avril appears to be in the same position as Delmas, after turning down a four-year, $30 million contract to remain with the team. According to his agent, Avril is already drawing interest from four teams.
Free-agent running back Reggie Bush has been linked heavily to the Lions as the perfect replacement for Jahvid Best. Lions’ players appear to want Bush on the team, taking to Twitter and public interviews to recruit him.
Minnesota Vikings
With news that Percy Harvin has told the team officially that he doesn’t want to play for the Vikings and wants to be traded, Minnesota has now been linked to top free-agent wide receivers Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings. While it’s no secret the Vikings need to add a true No. 1 receiver, spending a ton of money on a free agent isn’t really their style.