GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers are on the verge of losing out on free-agent cornerback Davon House.
According to a source, it is "very doubtful" that House will return to the Packers.
House has significant interest from seven NFL teams, especially from those that covet bigger cornerbacks. House, at 6-feet and 195 pounds, showed in his first four NFL seasons that his size allows him to play a more physical style.
Teams like Jacksonville, Seattle and Philadelphia are all known to be looking for a cornerback like House. The Jaguars would seem like a great fit given that House's college head coach at New Mexico State, DeWayne Walker, is now Jacksonville's defensive backs coach. Plus, the Jaguars have the most cap space in the league with more than $64 million available to spend.
Players can officially sign with a new team beginning at 3:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday.
A source told FOXSportsWisconsin.com on March 6 that House had "heard nothing from Green Bay" and was "very surprised" by it.
The Packers have $33 million available in cap space, but they face a decision at cornerback as both House and Tramon Williams approach unrestricted free agency.
House, only 25 years old, would seem to fit well with the long-term vision that general manager Ted Thompson often operates under. But it appears Thompson has decided to move on without House.
While cleaning out his locker Jan. 19, House felt he had proven that he's ready to be a full-time starter in the NFL. If teams needed evidence of that, House wanted to point them to the game film of Week 14 when he matched up with Atlanta's Julio Jones. Before House entered the game, Jones already had more than 200 receiving yards. Subbing in for Sam Shields (who signed a four-year, $39 million contract with the Packers last offseason), House had two key pass breakups against Jones, including one in the end zone in one-on-one coverage.
"Watch how the momentum swings," House said on Jan. 19, referencing Week 14. "Watch the difference when I'm in there. When I was in there it was man-to-man coverage, no help over the top. That and New England (in Week 13) when Sam goes down and I get thrown in the fire against one of the best quarterbacks in the league and watch how I perform."
House made it perfectly clear at the time that his desire is to stay in Green Bay.
"Why wouldn't you want to be on this team?," House said while sitting at his locker. "I love winning. I love Green Bay. And the bad stories I hear about some of the other teams out there about just how everything's run, this is like maid service. This is first class. I'm so used to this that I really don't want to drop down where freakin' December 28 the season is over with."
House added that his "dream" is to remain a Packer. But one big factor involved is if Green Bay -- or any other NFL team -- is willing to give him a chance at a starting outside cornerback spot.
"I know I can start in this league," House said on Jan. 19. "It's what I want to do is start. It sucks, like Seahawks in overtime, and I'm not on defense, and it hurts. We lose the game and it's like, I feel like I could've done something, but I'm on the sideline, playing special teams."
House has played 1,262 total defensive snaps in his four NFL seasons since being drafted by the Packers in the fourth round (No. 131 overall) in 2011. One reason for that snap count not being higher is that House suffered a shoulder injury in the 2012 preseason (at a time when he was on the verge of potentially claiming a starting job) and then fractured his scapula in 2014 when battling with Jones in the end zone.
"To me, I would say I'd give my potential a B-plus (or) A," House said on Jan. 19 when grading himself. "Then the four years of me being here I'd say a solid B. Just for the fact that I've came in in huge games when players got hurt and whatnot and stepped in and played like we didn't miss a beat. Played like a starter, I guess you could say. Did a great job on special teams. When my name was called on defense, it was like special teams and defense, and that's not easy to do."
Follow Paul Imig on Twitter
