There was a report from Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month that Packers coach Mike McCarthy is “fed up” with General Manager Ted Thompson’s aversion to adding veteran players in free agency.
The Packers have generally preferred drafting and developing their own players since before Thompson was in the job, although they’ve made the occasional foray into free agency to add players like Julius Peppers to the roster. Thompson said Thursday at the Combine in Indianapolis that he heard the report about McCarthy’s feeling and didn’t know “where that came from” and that the team is open to adding players through any avenue if they believe they’ll be helpful.
“We value draft and development,” Thompson said. “We value free agency. We have guys like Julius Peppers, guys that have been free agents. If you can help us win football games and be a good teammate and that sort of thing, you have a place for us. So we’re not opposed to doing that.”
One thing Thompson says that the Packers won’t do is radically change their approach this offseason because of a perception that a window to contend will close if they don’t strike now. He said “we’re not going to chase a ghost” to satisfy that concern, which may mean more business as usual for the Packers over the next month.