INDIANAPOLIS -- There's a reason the Green Bay Packers don't appear close to signing any of their impending free agents.
It's because they aren't.
They aren't alone, however, because agents say teams are holding off on doing any deals with their own players until they know what the next collective bargaining agreement looks like.
"The only players clubs can sign are their own players and that's very slow," said Tom Condon, whose star-studded client list includes Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who was franchised by the Colts. "Very few signings in the off-season."
The NFL Players Association regulates the agent system and it holds an annual meeting in conjunction with the NFL scouting combine. At this meeting, union executive director DeMaurice Smith addressed the agents and gave no indication that the union and owners were close to reaching a new agreement.
Free agency is due to begin Friday, but without a new CBA, the owners will impose a lockout and there will be no contract signings, no off-season workouts, no NFL drug program and no player salaries.
The only things that will go on are draft-related. Coaches and personnel people will be able to attend college workouts, potential draftees will be able to visit teams and the draft itself will take place.
But once that is complete, if there is still no CBA, none of the rookies will be able to report to the facility for coaching and undrafted players won't be able to sign deals.
The climate around the NFL is filled with caution. Teams aren't making much of an effort to re-sign their players because of the uncertainty.
Frank Bauer, the agent for Packers wide receiver James Jones, confirmed that everything was on hold with his client because all of the teams are reluctant to move forward with signings.
One of the agents for linebacker A.J. Hawk has told people that he and the Packers have gotten nowhere in renegotiating Hawk's deal, even though it appears the Packers are interested in retaining him. Hawk has a $10 million guaranteed base salary in 2011 that, if not reworked before the start of the league year, would result in the Packers releasing him.
"It's like that all around the league," Bauer said of the inactivity.
Part of the reason clubs are slow to sign players like Jones, who has four years of experience, is that he would be an unrestricted free agent under the old system and a restricted free agent under the uncapped one that was employed in 2010.
Teams don't want to give long-term deals to players who might be restricted next season. As a result, many clubs are sending out restricted free-agent tenders to players with four to six years of experience just in case.
"We'd like to keep our team in tact as best we could," general manager Ted Thompson said. "Those are questions we'll figure out as we go along."
Some of the Packers' other free agents are: RB Brandon Jackson, G Daryn Colledge, DE Cullen Jenkins, S Charlie Peprah and RB John Kuhn .
Thompson said he didn't anticipate trading backup quarterback Matt Flynn even though he will be a free agent after this season and has no chance of becoming the Packers' starter as long as Aaron Rodgers is around.
He also said he hasn't given up on re-signing Jenkins even though the defensive lineman said Thursday night he's 99 percent sure he won't be back next year.
Of Hawk, coach Mike McCarthy said, "A.J. Hawk is a Green Bay Packer as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to get into business situations. You just hope they'll work out."
More face time: It was several games into the season last year that McCarthy realized that he needed to spend more time coaching Rodgers.
The better Rodgers got and the more experience he gained, the more McCarthy loosened his reins on the third-year starter. But as he found out, the two needed each other much more than they thought.
"I felt that, as an offensive play-caller, I probably got a little bit too far away from the quarterback room in the early parts of the year," he said. "That's a criticism that I have of myself and that's something that (offensive coordinator) Joe Philbin and I have talked about."
McCarthy said the two met every Thursday afternoon for several hours and will do so again this year.
Better than ever: With McCarthy paying more attention to coaching quarterbacks and Philbin helping out with the offensive line, McCarthy has high expectations for his offense.
Despite winning Super Bowl XLV with the ninth-rated offense in the league (10th in scoring), McCarthy said a definite goal this season is to improve on offense.
"That'll be our No. 1 focus," he said. "To break it down simply, run the ball better, pass protect better, have more production in the passing game. We'll go through our scheme evaluation like we do every year. That won't change, and we plan on being a better offense."
Last stop: McCarthy said he was prepared for the loss of receivers coach Jimmy Robinson this year, only he thought it would be to retirement.
He said he thought Robinson was going to quit, but when Dallas coach and close friend Jason Garrett called him, he decided he wanted to go for a couple of more years.
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