NFL Rumors: Green Bay Packers expect CB Sam Shields to hit open market
By Josh Hill
If there was one gripe that fans of the Green Bay Packers had about their team this past year, it was how suspect the defense was for the majority of the season. The Packers defense really hasn’t been the elite unit Aaron Rodgers needs it to be and had it been solid these past few years, there’s no saying that Green Bay wouldn’t have been able to win another Super Bowl.
Defense is a position the Packers will focus on in the offseason, but their work is starting to stack up. With holes to fill all over, news that cornerback Sam Shields will be hitting the open market can’t be something the Packers really want to deal with, but it’s sounding more and more like they’ll have to.
Source says there's nothing new to report on FA-to-be #Packers CB Sam Shields. Seems increasingly likely he'll hit the market.
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) January 27, 2014
While hitting the open market hardly means that the Packers stand no chance of bringing Shields back, it certainly complicates matters. You don’t have to look far for competition for Shields, as a cornerback needy Vikings team just across the boarder has a track history of sniping Packers free agents once they hit the open market.