Former Packers OLB Whitney Mercilus Retires

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ need at outside linebacker won’t be addressed by re-signing veteran Whitney Mercilus.

“It’s time to hang it up,” Mercilus said on Instagram. He announced his retirement via a video promoting his cooking show, “Cooking with Whit.”

“Cheers. I love you all,” he concluded.

The Houston Texans, that team that drafted him in the first round of the 2012 draft, released Mercilus after Week 6 to focus on some of their younger players. The Packers were thrilled to get him, and he was thrilled to chase “the cherry on top” of a career by joining a championship contender.

“It’s not even about the money at this point. It’s more so trying to get a championship,” Mercilus said after his first practice. “For guys like me on the back half of their career, the best option I thought was coming here with the winning mentality. I just want to be a dog and add to that.”

The change of scenery seemed to revitalize his career.

In six games in Houston, he had two sacks and five pressures in 110 opportunities. In his first four games in Green Bay, he had one sack and 10 pressures in 80 pass-rushing snaps. He suffered a torn biceps in Week 10 against Seattle. He was back for the playoffs, and while he didn’t do anything of note in limited playing time in the loss to San Francisco, his comeback was remarkable considering everyone assumed his season was over.

“The thing I like about Whitney, obviously, the experience in the league, his leadership,” then-outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said before the Seattle game. “He’s just a great influence to have in the room. What he brings when he’s out there, I’m happy. I was telling Gutey and those guys the other day, I think all the time I’ve been in the league, this is one of my favorites we’ve brought into the building at all the places I’ve been just because of who he is and what he brings to the table. So, I’m very lucky and very blessed to have him in our room.”

Mercilus will turn 32 just before the start of training camp. With the release of Za’Darius Smith leaving only the starting duo of Preston Smith and Rashan Gary as reliable performers, Mercilus would have been a wise re-signing to add depth alongside a presumptive draft pick.

In 10 seasons, Mercilus collected 58 sacks and 13 forced fumbles.

Green Bay Packers Unrestricted Free Agents

Unsigned: RT Dennis Kelly

There’s some uncertainty on the offensive line following the release of starting right tackle Billy Turner and the free-agent departure of guard/center Lucas Patrick. Having invested six draft picks on the line the past two years, Green Bay has built some depth.

The Packers could start the season with left tackle David Bakhtiari, left guard Jon Runyan, center Josh Myers, right guard Royce Newman and right tackle Yosh Nijman. At some point, former Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins will return to supplement the group. Until that happens, the Packers have an obvious need for tackle depth.

The 32-year-old Kelly signed with Green Bay just before the start of training camp last summer. While he struggled against the 49ers’ Nick Bosa in the playoff loss, he performed well enough in four regular-season starts that he could challenge Nijman for the starting job. Either way, having Bakhtiari, Nijman and Kelly would take the pressure off general manager Brian Gutekunst to spend a premium pick on a tackle.

Unsigned: DT Tyler Lancaster

Gutekunst made a splash in free agency this week by signing veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed to a one-year contract. Other than the start of the 2019 season, when he was suspended, Reed has started all but one game the past five seasons. He’s not a great run defender and he’s not a great pass rusher but he’s a three-down player capable of devouring a large quantity of snaps.

With that, the Packers have a starting trio of Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, Reed and veteran Dean Lowry. TJ Slaton, who showed some promise in about 15 snaps per game as a rookie fifth-round pick, could provide some high-quality depth should he take a step forward in Year 2. The only other player under contract is Jack Heflin, who made the team but hardly played as an undrafted rookie last year.

The Packers could use one more player on the defensive line. They could go younger and cheaper (and perhaps better) than Lancaster with a draft pick. With seven selections in the first four rounds, they should be in position to draft a quality prospect. If not, they could circle back after the draft to Lancaster, who’s generally delivered strong run defense in his first four seasons.

Unsigned: CB Kevin King

Coming off a nightmarish NFC Championship Game against Tampa Bay, King returned to the Packers last offseason on a one-year, $5 million contract. The Packers gave him a $3.75 million bonus, which they prorated over a total of five years with the addition of four void years. When the Packers didn’t sign him to a new deal by a February deadline, all the leftover cap proration - $3 million – was dumped onto Green Bay’s 2022 cap as dead money.

So, if the Packers wanted to keep King, the time was then, not now.

It is easy to see why the Packers might not want him back. King played in 10 games with six starts last season. That, of course, means he missed seven games. In five seasons, he missed 30 of a possible 81 games due to the world’s longest list of injuries.

The Packers have a potentially elite cornerback trio with Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. But, with Chandon Sullivan signing with the Vikings in free agency, the Packers have no proven depth. Shemar Jean-Charles, a fifth-round pick last year, didn’t have a good training camp and barely played as a rookie. On Friday, they signed Keisean Nixon, who is known mostly for his history with Snoop Dogg and his play on special teams.

Here are the rest of Green Bay’s unrestricted free agents.