There are a lot of reasons Green Bay isn't a hot spot for free agents. Vic Ketchum wrote about it over the years. There's also the issue of weather. Why would a player opt for playing in Green Bay, if he has a chance to play in Florida, California, or any other warm climate? There's the night life. Small city Green Bay, compared to the hustle and bustle, and night life of LA, NYC, or Miami? The list of reasons goes on and on, and that was the #1 reason that Thompson made it his mission to build the team primarily through the draft. He knew the problems he was facing, and in many cases, if the Packer front office contacts a free agent's spokesperson, the spokesperson would say things like; "Unless the Packer offer is extremely substantial, my client would rather be looking to land in a place where he'd be more comfortable." Of course, comfortable can mean anything.
Anyhow, that's how I see it.