Cheese Curds, 2/27: Scouting Combine talks can lead to free agent re-signings

The NFL Scouting Combine begins tomorrow, and with it will come intense scrutiny of the 330 players in attendance. They will be poked and prodded from all angles, both physical and psychologically, and put through the gauntlet of on-field workouts.

However, while the focus of the event remains on the draft, this is also one of the instances in which GMs and agents are in the same city - in fact, often in the same building - which can lead to some discussions about free agents. Of course, these discussions would have to be limited to players who are still under contract with their old teams until March 9th or players who have been cut loose by their old teams already.

Those discussions happen, however; last year, reports surfaced that Packers brass had spoken to John Kuhn's agent at the Combine and that mututal interest was displayed. That did not end up materializing in a new contract, as Kuhn ended up going unsigned until the Saints added him late in the summer; however, it's just one example of the fact that agents and GMs will indeed talk about the possibility of their players re-signing.

With the Packers having an impressive number of free agents this year - 20 to be exact - there should be plenty of opportunities for Ted Thompson to gauge the demands and desires of those players before they hit the open market next week.

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