Cheese Curds, 3/22: Thompson speaks, Spence visits, McCarthy's beard grows

As is the case each year, the Green Bay Packers' top men are attending the NFL's league meetings in Florida this week. In a rare moment of being candid, general manager Ted Thompson spoke at length with reporters on Monday about his plans for the future, his approach to free agency, and the promotions that he and the team announced in the front office.

Meanwhile, the team continues its progression toward the 2016 NFL Draft. We have our first report of the team bringing in a big-name player for an official visit - it's Eastern Kentucky pass-rusher Noah Spence, who has every reason to expect teams to dig deep into his personal life.

Finally, we have some news for NFL fans in a few foreign countries that might excite you, though it is sure to be less than thrilling for players who would end up being participants in the events that are being discussed.

Packers left to weigh Noah Spence's pros and cons | 247sports.com
To his credit, Spence has acknowledged the drug issues that led to his being kicked out of the Big Ten conference and taken steps to fix them. The Packers now are apparently bringing him in for a visit, likely to see if they can gauge how committed he is to staying out of trouble.

Thompson says there could be some free agent "surprises" down the road | JSOnline.com
He's not coming right out and saying that he's signing anybody tomorrow, but he tried to assure reporters (and by extension fans) that "just because we don't sign somebody doesn't mean we don't consider people."

Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson gives no hints if retirement is near - ESPN
Here's a little more in-depth discussion about the front office promotions from Monday, where Thompson says "I'm feeling good now and enjoying it."

Thompson on a roll after 2-year draft slump | Packersnews.com
Sure, 2011 and 2012 were pretty brutal draft classes, but that was hardly limited to the Packers. Thompson's draftees in the three drafts since have certainly lived up to their billing for the most part.

@packers' first tweets | Packers.com
Twitter turned 10 years old on Monday, and the Packers website decided to look up several of the players' first-ever tweets.

Our 10 favorite things about this year's NFL coaches photo - SBNation.com
Yes, Mike McCarthy's beard is one of them.

NFL could play in Germany by 2017, China by 2018 - NFL.com
I'm sure players will love this. Even a trip from the west coast to Germany would be shorter than from there to China.