Morning Buzz: Ted does it his way

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.

Wednesday at the NFL combine was a busy day for the Packers when it came to their media responsibilities, with both Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy meeting with reporters.

Michael Cohen has an excellent overview of what went down:

While Thompson declined to discuss specific free-agents-to-be, McCarthy, who also addressed the media Wednesday, was asked repeatedly about three primary subjects: running back Eddie Lacy, right guard T.J. Lang and outside linebacker Julius Peppers, all of whom will become unrestricted free agents when contracts expire next week.

The short version is that McCarthy spoke fondly of all three players and would like to see them return to the Packers next season. When it came to Lacy, who is still recovering from ankle surgery, McCarthy labeled him one of the team’s “core players” and said he is intrigued by the possibility of pairing Lacy with running back Ty Montgomery. In the case of Peppers, who McCarthy labeled a “valuable asset,” the coaching staff would welcome him back if he decided to play a 16th season.

The Packers' defense was not up to par for much of 2016. Pete Dougherty’s latest column wrestles with the question of how Thompson can possibly fix it in one offseason.

Pete and I discussed our takeaways from Thompson’s appearance:

It sounds like there’s a least a possibility that Julius Peppers could return for the 2017 season:

McCarthy made a small bit of news when he mentioned that T.J. Lang would most likely not be available until training camp. Lang himself chimed in once that quote hit Twitter:

McCarthy spoke with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday:

Rob Demovsky writes on Clay Matthews:

Interesting take over at Cheesehead TV on how it’s time to let T.J. Lang go:

ACME Packing Company looks at free agent pass rushers:

The Power Sweep looks at the Packers’ history with compensatory draft picks:

Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt takes us inside Combine interviews:

After a successful season in New England, could Chris Long be a free-agent target for the Packers?

We have an official number for this season’s salary cap: