Players under contract No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College 21 Charles Woodson CB 6-1 202 35 14 Michigan 38 Tramon Williams CB 5-11 191 28 5 La. Tech 42 Morgan Burnett S 6-1 209 23 2 Georgia Tech 36 Nick Collins S 5-11 207 28 7 Bethune-Cookman 26 Charlie Peprah S 5-11 203 28 6 Alabama 37 Sam Shields CB 5-11 184 24 2 Miami (Fla.) 31 Davon House CB 6-0 195 22 R New Mexico St. 39 Brandian Ross CB 6-0 191 22 R Youngstown St. 43 M.D. Jennings S 6-0 187 23 R Arkansas St. 34 Anthony Levine S 5-11 199 24 1 Tennessee St.

Free agents No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College 24 Jarrett Bush CB/S 6-0 200 27 6 Utah St. 22 Pat Lee CB 6-0 196 27 4 Auburn

The good news: While 2011 was hardly a banner year for the unit, the Green Bay Packers have talent in the secondary. But their top three corners ? Woodson, Williams and Shields ? did not play at their 2010 levels, and losing Collins, a three-time Pro Bowl safety, in Week 2 certainly did not help matters. There?s reason to wonder whether the aforementioned threesome will regain their form and if Collins will be able to continue his NFL career. But there?s also reason to believe that had the Packers? pass rush not been so anemic this season, perhaps the secondary would have fared considerably better. Woodson?s future, despite being a likely Pro Football Hall of Fame player, is a bit uncertain because of a $4 million roster bonus due in April and an $11.5 million salary-cap number. It?s also possible that he could make the oft-discussed move to safety is Collins? March visit to the doctor doesn?t result in him getting clearance to play again. Williams grew into a Pro Bowl, shutdown corner in 2010 ? a Jeremy Lin-type story, having watched his first Louisiana Tech football game from the stands before walking on and going undrafted out of college ? and the shoulder injury he suffered in the season opener had to be a factor in his poor play. The smart money says he rebounds.

The bad news: There?s no sugar-coating it: With 71 pass plays of 20 yards or more allowed during the season, the secondary was a primary concern on the league?s worst pass defense. ?Just didn?t get the job done. We didn?t play well, didn?t play consistent,? straight-shooting cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt said. ?That?s one thing that we?re going to look at and find the answer to. It?s not going to be a lack of effort or lack of creativity to find out why we didn?t play to the level that we played to in the past.? The biggest disappointment was Shields, who was a godsend as an undrafted rookie free agent, earning the nickel job in training camp in 2010 and helping the team to the Super Bowl XLV title. His sophomore slump was a disappointing regression, and while the lockout didn?t help his development, it wasn?t an excuse for his poor play, Whitt said. ?I?m not going to make excuses, OK? We played under the same rules that everybody else played under,? Whitt said. ?It would have helped every young player in the league to have an offseason, so there?s no excuse for that. There?s a lot of guys that were in that same situation. I think he?s going to be a real good player in this league. That hasn?t changed. He jumped out so quickly last year. I knew there would be some bumps in the road. He still covered at a decent level this year. The thing is, the tackling has to improve and that?s one thing that we will get corrected. It will get corrected.?

The big question: Collins, a class act and a happily married father of four, seems to have his priorities in order. If the doctors tell him there?s too much risk involved with playing football again, he will retire and look to get into coaching. But make no mistake: He wants to play. Just because he?s at peace with whatever happens doesn?t mean he?s lost his competitive fire. His Sept. 18 neck injury at Carolina was a scary moment, and the Sept. 29 single spinal fusion surgery he underwent in New York was deemed a success in terms of him being able to live a normal life. But his football future hinges on a March follow-up with Dr. Frank Camissa, who performed the surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, as well as with Packers team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Pat McKenzie. If he?s good to go, it?ll be a huge lift for the defense. If he must retire, the Packers will take the salary-cap savings, strongly consider moving Woodson to safety and need to add more DBs in the draft.

Offseason outlook: The Packers could lose both Bush and Lee as unrestricted free agents, with Bush clearly the one who?ll draw more attention on the open market. While Lee, a 2008 second-round pick, can in part blame injuries for his disappointing Packers career, he was healthy last season and failed to build on his clutch play in the second half of Super Bowl XLV. He did become a solid gunner on punt coverage and a contributor on other special teams units, but he was horrendous in his one game filling in for an injured Randall Cobb as the kick returner. Bush, meanwhile, still had his rough patches as a cornerback, but he built on his Super Bowl interception and grew into the unquestioned leader of the special teams units. The last time Bush was a free agent, the Packers matched the Tennessee Titans? offer sheet to him. While Jermichael Finley and Scott Wells are the re-signing priorities, don?t underestimate Bush?s worth. Meanwhile, Collins? health holds the key to where the secondary goes during the offseason. A Woodson move to safety would leave the cornerback position in need of depth. No one knows what the Packers have in House, who redshirted as a rookie fourth-round pick, and even if Collins does return, one has to think general manager Ted Thompson will use at least one pick on a safety or corner.

Next: Special teams.

? Jason Wilde