The State of the Green Bay Packers’ Free Agents

The NFL free agency negotiating period begins on Monday and the signing period begins on Wednesday. Here's a look at De'Vondre Campbell and some other key players.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers, perpetually chasing a second Super Bowl championship in the Aaron Rodgers era, are in the midst of a critical five days.

They have to somehow get to the $208.2 million salary cap by the start of the league-year at 3 p.m. Tuesday. That would be easy if the Packers were an eight-win team destined to go nowhere in 2022. But they’re a 13-win team with championship aspirations. So, general manager Brian Gutekunst is balancing the competing interests of at least getting to the cap, fielding a championship team and not destroying future salary caps in the process of accomplishing those first two goals.

From talking to sources, the Rodgers drama understandably put a lot of stuff on hold. More than that, with Rodgers not having signed a contract, a lot of team business remains on hold.

With the negotiating window set to start on Monday and the signing period starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, at least a couple free agents haven’t received even a low-ball, introductory offer. Perhaps the plan of attack will be to let players test free agency but to keep the team in the loop.

Here's a look at some of Green Bay’s key free agents.

WR Davante Adams

The Packers used the franchise tag on Adams as a “bridge to hopefully an extension down the road,” as Gutekunst put it recently. Getting beneath the cap would obviously be easier with an extension that would cut his $20.1 million cap charge in half (or more). But the Packers can do that in June or July and use that money for, say, an in-season extension for Elgton Jenkins.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

If Valdes-Scantling is a bit of a one-trick pony as a deep threat, that’s a pretty good one trick. Valdes-Scantling led the NFL in 40-yard receptions in 2020 and didn’t drop a pass during an injury-plagued 2021. There will be a strong market, and the guess is he’s priced himself out of Green Bay. In response, Gutekunst will tap into a fleet of rocket-fast receivers in the draft.

TE Robert Tonyan

If not for last year’s torn ACL, Tonyan might have been the top tight end available in free agency. Remember how good he was in 2020, when he ranked No. 1 among tight ends in catch percentage, touchdowns (11) and drops (zero).

Tonyan had a “clean” tear of his ACL. Both sides are confident that he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season and possibly even the start of training camp.

Rodgers wants him back, and the Packers don’t have another tight end on the roster even remotely close to providing Tonyan’s receiving impact. Working in Tonyan’s favor: Three of the top tight ends were franchised. On the other hand, he’s really only done it for one year and is coming off a serious injury.

Why wouldn’t Denver, with Nathaniel Hackett as coach, Justin Outten as offensive coordinator, limited draft capital after trading for Russell Wilson and a lot of cap space, pursue Tonyan? And if he doesn’t get a big offer, perhaps he’ll bet on himself with a one-year deal in hopes of cashing in next offseason.

TE Marcedes Lewis

The NFL’s oldest tight end is approaching his 38th birthday and intends to play at least another season. The Packers could release him and save almost $2.5 million but Lewis provides a lot of value as a leader and a blocker. Without Outten to lead the group, Lewis can serve as an unofficial player-coach alongside new position coach John Dunn.

WR Randall Cobb

Speaking of wise veterans, the Packers could release Cobb and save almost $6.75 million. That seems like a no-brainer given Cobb’s age (will turn 32 during training camp), injury history and limited production, along with the third-round pick used last year on slot receiver Amari Rodgers. But Aaron Rodgers pushed to get Cobb back last year and no doubt would love to see his close friend return in 2022. The guess is he’ll be back – probably on a restructured contract – at the request of the quarterback.

LB De’Vondre Campbell

This is an interesting one. The Packers traditionally have invested few resources into the linebacker position. They didn’t invest much in Campbell, either, but got an All-Pro performance at a bargain-basement price to demonstrate the value of a real standout at the position.

If there’s one veteran free agent they’d love to retain, it’s Campbell. Spotrac projected a three-year contract worth $18.86 million. That’s $6.28 million per year – or about $4 million less annually than Blake Martinez is getting from the Giants, so that figure seems preposterously low. Can the Packers possibly scrape together enough money to make a viable offer? That seems unlikely, but the answer might be in the details of the contract that Rodgers hasn’t signed. Coming off the best season of his career, there is little reason for Campbell to not see what's available.

OLB Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith

In terms of the team’s 2022 cap charges, Za’Darius Smith ranks second and Preston Smith ranks fourth. That’s a financial impossibility. The guess is the Packers will extend one and release the other to take care of a big chunk of their cap problems. Coming off the better year and with fewer health-related questions, Preston Smith is the easy choice.

So, why is Za’Darius Smith still on the roster? A, there’s no financial reason to release him today. B, maybe they can swing a trade to control where he goes instead of seeing him join Mike Smith in Minnesota. C, maybe they’re using one player to negotiate against the other.

CB Rasul Douglas

It’s hard to win Super Bowls, as the Packers can attest. Gutekunst lucked into two studs with Campbell and Douglas and still couldn’t win the Super Bowl.

Douglas went from Arizona’s practice squad to providing a team-high five interceptions for Green Bay. Unless the entire NFL believes Douglas was a 12-game fluke, he will sign a contract far too rich for the Packers.

Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander will provide a quality starting tandem. But three cornerbacks are on the field for about three-fourths of the defensive snaps. If they can’t retain Douglas, they better hope that slot corner Chandon Sullivan doesn’t get big dollars elsewhere.