Green Bay Packers Flips Elite Seminole’s 2025 Defensive Edge.
Why, instead of developing one of the NFL’s top young rosters, is general manager Brian Gutekunst sitting on the team’s bloated, cash-coddling roster? Here’s an idea.
HUBERMAR BILL 17, 2024, around 9:30 PDT
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The Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: With the recent acquisitions, the NFL salary-cap rankings are subject to change. Nevertheless, the Green Bay Packers had $24.55 million in available cap space as the first week of NFL free agency came to an end on Sunday, per OverTheCap.com. Ten teams were the only ones with more.
Financially sound, the Packers will be even more so on June 1st when linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s $10.5 million cap hit is removed, but why hasn’t general manager Brian Gutekunst made any additions to the team since bringing in Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney in the first hours of free agency?
A club that surged in the last stages and advanced to the playoff divisional round is ready to challenge for the title. It still has certain deadly weaknesses, though, which might prevent it from winning the Super Bowl for a record 14 times.
Kristian Welch, a special teamer, is the third starting at linebacker, leaving a huge void. Of course, that will be covered in the draft, but for now, the depth is less than the ice on Lake Michigan. (Hint: Lake Michigan is not covered in ice.) Benny Sapp is the next man up at safety, where Anthony Johnson Jr. is the starting opposite McKinney. Royce Newman is the offensive line’s best backup.
How could something go wrong?
In the latter seasons of Aaron Rodgers’ tenure as Green Bay’s quarterback, Gutekunst aggressively pursued a Super Bowl victory. He didn’t exercise his right to free agency, but he did everything in his power to keep the club together. The Packers have to pay for that strategy both in the previous and current offseasons.
However, it isn’t how the Packers like to conduct business.
It’s time for what will most likely once again be one of the youngest teams in the NFL to return to a responsible spending plan. This means that cap management will now take a pay-as-you-go approach rather than the credit-card method of the previous few years.
My assumption is the reason Gutekunst has been sitting on the team’s pocketbook since Monday. Jordan Love is only 25 years old, so the Packers’ title won’t be going away anytime soon. Gutekunst’s methodical approach to assembling the roster therefore appears logical.
According to OTC, the Packers will be over $60 million under the cap in 2025 after 51 players sign contracts. That obviously depends on how Love’s contract extension turns out. Will it begin inexpensively before becoming extraordinarily costly, or will those tens of millions of dollars be allocated proportionately in accordance with anticipated increases in the cap?
The part of free agency that involves maintaining your best players should go smoothly the following season, just like it did this one. Kenny Clark, the greatest free agent, is a defensive tackle who will most likely get an extension this season. Josh Myers, the center, TJ Slaton, the defensive tackle, and Isaiah McDuffie, the linebacker, are the other three starters who will be available as free agents. Eric Stokes, a cornerback, will also.
The offseason of 2026 will present a distinct scenario. And we mean pricey when we say different. This is due to the fact that the team’s potent class of 2022 draft picks will be entering free agency.
Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and linebacker Quay Walker were selected in the first round. Following them in order of selection: guard Sean Rhyan in the third round, receiver Romeo Doubs and right tackle Zach Tom in the fourth round, and left tackle Rasheed Walker in the seventh round. Receiver Christian Watson was selected in the second round.
Seven players, to be exact, who might start in 2024.
If Watson resolves his hamstring problems and the other six players continue to improve as a member of a contending club, 2026 free agency will be extremely costly.
There’s only so many large contracts a team can afford. There will be difficult choices to make.
Not to mention, in 2027, the team’s talented 2023 draft class will be eligible for free agency.
2024 cap space that isn’t used can be carried over to the following season. Gutekunst can save whatever money he doesn’t spend, which may be a lot right now, till 2025. Additionally, any funds left over in 2025 can be used in 2026 and 2027 to try to retain as much of a strong core of players as possible over the long term.
