GREEN BAY, Wis. — Time isn’t of the essence just yet for the Green Bay Packers before the free-agency free-for-all kicks off Tuesday afternoon.

However, as mere days start to give way to a matter of hours on the ticking clock, the greater the belief sets in that Green Bay just might be willing to bid adieu to one of its star players.

“He’s a Packer,” head coach Mike McCarthy said two weeks ago at the NFL Scouting Combine about Randall Cobb.

How much longer McCarthy will we be able to say that about the prolific receiver remains to be seen.

On a long list of notable free-agents-to-be, Cobb looms as the biggest priority for the Packers to try to re-sign.

In recent days, though, various reports have circulated suggesting Green Bay might not be so warm to bringing Cobb back if it means throwing an exorbitant amount of money at him. He purportedly desires at least $10 million annually in compensation, which is believed to be off-limits for the Packers.

“I want him back. We all want him back. He wants to get back,” McCarthy said at the combine. “But you’ve got agents and it’s a negotiation. Let’s see what happens.”

By Tuesday, if the Packers haven’t brokered a deal with their versatile playmaker, all bets are off on him finding his way back to Green Bay.

The Packers are sitting pretty with $33 million clear of the newly upgraded salary cap of $143.28 million, but some other teams have greater money in hand and apparently are targeting Cobb as a must-have if Green Bay doesn’t think similarly.

The Oakland Raiders, under the direction of former longtime Packers personnel guru Reggie McKenzie, are one of those teams believed to be ready to pounce when free agency opens if Cobb is sitting there.

Remove Cobb from the team at only age 24 after his whopping season of 91 catches for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, general manager Ted Thompson would be sending a clear signal how much faith he has in younger wideouts to complement Jordy Nelson.

Last year’s draft class yielded starter-in-the-making Davante Adams in the second round and the late-round tandem of Jared Abbrederis (fifth) and Jeff Janis (seventh).

While Adams had a few breakout games, unknown is what Abbrederis and Janis can bring to the offense. Janis was activated for only three games and had just two receptions. Abbrederis, a potential replacement for Cobb in the slot, missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury.

Let Cobb walk as the top free agent at receiver this year and the Packers probably would be in the market to make a run at another wideout on the board or wait until the draft to fill the gap, as Thompson’s wont typically is.

That would just add to other priorities Thompson must address in the coming days and weeks.

The most glaring void is at inside linebacker after Thompson followed through on what many anticipated by releasing veteran starters A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones in late February.

“I think the inside-linebacker position could probably be compared to where we were last year at the safety position,” McCarthy said before the departures of Hawk and Jones came to light. “We’ll see what this process that we go through as far as player acquisition, how that affects it.”

Sam Barrington, who started nine games last season (including two in the playoffs), is a top contender to fill one of the starting spots. Depending on what comes of Cobb’s future with the team, the Packers could be targeting inside linebacker in Round 1 of the draft as they did by taking Alabama safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with their first pick last year to satisfy a big need.

The dawning of the new league year also will answer questions on what Green Bay will do with right tackle Bryan Bulaga and the cornerback tandem of veteran standout Tramon Williams and oft-injured young prospect Davon House as unrestricted free agents.

“Definitely, I want him back, and I know Bryan wants to be back,” McCarthy said of Bulaga. “But we’re now in that business phase of our game. That happens each and every year.”