Packers Rumors: Ted Thompson Facing Heat on Free Agents?

Ted Thompson’s stance on free agency is well documented, but what’s less well understood is the perception of his strategy within the walls of Lambeau Field. We’ve only periodically gotten glimpses of how other members of the Packers brass feel about Green Bay’s moves (or non-moves) in the free agent market.

Michael Cohen provides another one of those glimpses today, saying “Thompson’s lack of aggression on the open market is an irritant both inside and out of the organization.”

That people outside the organization are irritated with Thomson is no surprise; ask Twitter its feelings on Thompson and you’ll get a tidal wave of responses.

But that Thompson’s strategy is frustrating enough internally to merit a one line throwaway in a relatively boilerplate story seems to indicate that the irritation is both common and well understood among those in the know.

Who’s frustrated with Thompson?

Cohen doesn’t (and wouldn’t) name names, so we can only speculate who those irritated with Ted Thompson may be. However, it’s not a complete mystery.

Aaron Rodgers said in his season ending news conference that he’d like the Packers to “make sure we’re going all-in every year to win.”

What “all-in” means is open to interpretation, but it’s hard to argue that the Packers have ever gone all-in when it comes to free agency.

Head coach Mike McCarthy has also been a relatively open skeptic of Thompson’s free agency philosophy. In his post mortem of the 2015 season, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel scribe Bob McGinn indicated via several sources that McCarthy was “fed up” with Thompson’s do-nothing approach to signing veterans.

In the area of pure speculation, it’s possible that Thompson is also facing pressure from other members of the Packers front office.

While we don’t know the extent to which he advocates for signings, we do know that Eliot Wolf does scout other rosters throughout the leagues, and it’s possible that he’s offered up some suggestions that may have gone by the wayside.

No matter the source, though, it appears that Packers fans aren’t alone in their frustration with Ted Thompson. They apparently have sympathy in some high places.