Packers Free Agency: 14 Players, $24 Million Cap Space

Monday marks the unofficial start of NFL free agency. Here is the outlook for the Green Bay Packers.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 13, 2023 8:39 AM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – NFL free agency, unofficially, begins at 11 a.m. (Central) on Monday with the so-called legal tampering period. That’s when the Green Bay Packers’ 14 unrestricted free agents are able to negotiate contracts with other teams in advance of the official start of free agency at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Here is the outlook for the Packers.

Salary Cap

Through several contract restructures, including left tackle David Bakhtiari on Friday, the Packers have $24.04 million of salary-cap space, according to OverTheCap.com. That is the ninth-most space in the NFL, though subject to change based on a potential Aaron Rodgers trade and other teams’ ability to carve out space.

“Obviously, for the last few years, we’ve been kind of pushing things out,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of contract restructures. “At some point, you’ve got to pay up a little bit, and we’re going to do a little bit of that this year, I hope. We’ll always have a couple of guys that we hold as far as restructuring goes until we need them, and we have a few of those guys.

“A lot of it is opportunity as we get into free agency and the opportunities that present themselves. If, all of a sudden, there’s something that maybe we didn’t expect to come up and we might be able to help our football team, then we’ll reach out to those guys. But I feel like we’re not going to have the resources that we had a few years ago when we were able to do a lot of stuff, but I do think if there’s an opportunity to help our football team that we’ll be able to do it.”

14 Unrestricted Free Agents

The Packers have 14 players who will be unrestricted free agents. Taken individually, there might not be a must-sign player on the list. In totality, though, it is a solid group.

Led by Adrian Amos and Marcedes Lewis with 17 starts apiece, those 14 players combined to start 91 games. Allen Lazard led the team in receptions and Robert Tonyan was third. Adrian Amos was second in tackles and Jarran Reed was second in quarterback hits. Dallin Leavitt and Eric Wilson tied for the team lead in special teams tackles. Keisean Nixon was the only first-team All-Pro. Amos and Lewis were permanent team captains. Mason Crosby is the leading scorer in franchise history.

Here are those players, with links to their individual stories.

Stay or Go: Adrian Amos

Stay or Go: Corey Ballentine

Stay of Go: Randall Cobb

Stay or Go: Mason Crosby

Stay or Go: Rudy Ford

Stay or Go: Justin Hollins

Stay of Go: Allen Lazard

Stay or Go: Dallin Leavitt

Stay or Go: Marcedes Lewis

Stay or Go: Dean Lowry

Stay or Go: Keisean Nixon

Stay or Go: Jarran Reed

Stay or Go: Robert Tonyan

Stay or Go: Eric Wilson

Four Biggest Decisions

Defensive line: Jarran Reed provide some strong pass rush and Dean Lowry has been steady for years. Combined, they played 1,187 defensive snaps in 2022. With Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton elevated up the too-early depth chart, the new Nos. 4 and 5 – Jonathan Ford and Chris Slayton – played zero snaps.

Safeties: It’s a similar story here. In his four seasons, Adrian Amos has started every game. Rudy Ford started six games and had three interceptions. Ford and Dallin Leavitt were standouts on an improved special teams. If they all leave, all that’s left are Darnell Savage, Tariq Carpenter, Innis Gaines and James Wiggins.

Receiver: Allen Lazard is expected to earn a contract worth in excess of $10 million per season. Randall Cobb’s better days are behind him. But the Packers would be incredibly young if they both leave. The five receivers under contract include four 2022 rookies – Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure and Bo Melton – and a practice-squad holdover.

“I’d love to have a veteran presence,” Gutekunst said. “It’s just another guy in the room that those guys can bounce things off of and bring to the table. Whether that will happen or not, we’ll see, but I think that experience – as excited as I am about those young guys, having a guy with the kind of experience that has seen things, none of those guys got to play in a playoff game, right?

“It’d be nice to have a guy that can continue to help move those guys along as well as a veteran presence out there. I think that’s important.”

Keisean Nixon: Nixon was one of the great signings made by any team last offseason. He provided quality snaps on defense initially before bursting onto the scene as the NFL’s most dangerous kickoff returner. It will be fascinating to see his next contract. You could argue he’s Green Bay’s most important free agent. On the other hand, how much money is too much money for a player who might not get his hands on the ball some weeks?

Don’t Forget Restricted Free Agents

The Packers also have three restricted free agents: offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, former starting linebacker Krys Barnes and tight end Tyler Davis.

A restricted free agent is a player with three years of NFL experience. There are three tender levels: first round is $6.005 million, second round is $4.304 million and right of first refusal is $2.627 million.

If the Packers give Nijman a second-round tender, which is the expectation, they’ll have to pay him that $4.304 million. However, a team that wants Nijman can offer him a contract. The Packers can match that offer and keep Nijman. Or, they can let him go and collect a second-round draft pick.

The Packers probably will not tender Davis and Barnes so they would become unrestricted free agents.

The deadline to tender those players is 3 p.m. Wednesday.

A Reminder

The big fish in the free agent sea will get all the headlines the next few days but smart teams make smart signings. While Green Bay went only 8-9 last year, Gutekunst hit it big with four of his budget moves: defensive tackle Jarran Reed and cornerback/returner Keisean Nixon in the secondary waves of free agency along with safety Dallin Leavitt before training camp and safety Rudy Ford after final cuts.

“I give Richmond Williams and the pro staff and John Wojciechowski such credit of staying on top of it,” Gutekunst said. “It’s something we’re afforded in Green Bay and, just the way we go about it with our process is that these are things are things we talk about every day. And just staying after it and understanding that the timing will be right when it’s right.

“I think a lot of it, too, is the opportunity that they’re given here. When we bring a guy in late Matt and his staff, I give them a lot of credit for allowing these guys the opportunity that they do. Sometimes when you bring guys in late, it’s very hard for coaches to find that opportunity, and Matt (LaFleur) and his staff have done a nice job of incorporating those guys into what we’re doing.”