Catching up on Packer Blog reading from over the holidays, I found several good posts over at Railbird Central (the best of the bunch is here, an overview of what the Packers could/should do in free agency this off-season)

However, as the official Online Packer Contrarian (or so I've been told) I have to quibble with this post where Railbird Guru Brian Carriveau leads the charge for the Packers to resign Corey Williams to a front-loaded contract, due to the fact that the Packers have the money and that the jury is still out on this years first rounder, Justin Harrell.

Signing Williams to a big-money contract the first few days of free-agency would be a huge mistake, and it's something I doubt Ted Thompson would ever seriously consider doing. Williams is a good player. He may even be a very good player. But he is not a special player. He is not a difference maker in the way that Tommie Harris is in Chicago or the way Richard Seymour is in New England (and yes, I realize he's a 3-4 end, thank you very much) Williams is a great role player and is no doubt making himself huge piles of money with every play he makes for the Packers, but Green Bay will not be the one opening the checkbook for him, at least not right away. Does anyone remember the $80 million the 49ers gave Nate Clemens on the opening day of free agency last year? Does anyone with any football sense think that was a good investment? Now, granted, one could point to other big deals that actually paid off, namely the Cowboys decision to pay big money to Leonard Davis and move him to guard. But for every one that pays off, there are 10 to 15 that don't, and that's no exaggeration.

Let the market set itself and if Williams is still available two or three weeks into free agency, then talk to him about coming back at a price that is good for both he and the Packers. But I will be shocked if Williams, who switched agents last off-season no doubt in anticipation of this coming period, doesn't get some stupid-money contract from a team that needs big time help on the defensive line. And they won't get near what they paid for.