Packers Free Agents: Jones, Linsley Lead Offense

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Regardless of whether the salary cap plummets or the NFL and NFLPA find a way to keep it relatively steady during a pandemic, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst will face a challenging offseason after falling short of the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season.

Whatever the cap number, only four teams are in worse shape than the Packers, according to OverTheCap.com. So, while maybe the team can avoid the wholesale slashing of veteran salaries, it won’t be able to win many bidding wars, whether it’s for retaining its own players or bringing in players from the outside.

Here’s a quick-hitting look at the Packers’ list of unrestricted free agents on offense, listed in predicted order of annual salary. We’ll go into further detail on each player as the start of free agency on March 17 approaches.

RB Aaron Jones: Jones ranks sixth in NFL history with 5.17 yards per carry (minimum 650 carries) and finished sixth among running backs this season with 1,459 yards from scrimmage. With breakaway ability, an every-down skill-set and two mostly healthy seasons, he’s going to be rewarded with a monster payday. The Packers probably can’t afford him, and maybe it’s just as well. Of the 20 running backs making at least $3.5 million per season, only Tennessee’s Derrick Henry and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook topped 1,000 rushing yards, and only Henry, Cook, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott topped a modest 1,150 yards from scrimmage.

C Corey Linsley: Linsley was voted first-team All-Pro despite missing three games and most of two others were injuries. For what it’s worth, he was by far the highest-graded center in the league by Pro Football Focus. Including playoffs, he allowed one sack and was not penalized. He’ll turn 30 right about the start of training camp next summer. “I feel like I put out some good film and did the best that I could this year,” he said on Monday. He was the team's nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

RB Jamaal Williams: Williams faces a fascinating free agency in terms of how he's valued. While he doesn’t have one elite trait, he runs hard, catches and blocks. For their careers, Jones has 85 runs of 10-plus yards out of 651 career carries, giving him a 10-yard run rate of 13.1 percent. Williams has 38 such runs out of 500 career carries, give him a 10-yard run rate of 7.6 percent. On the other hand, Williams has missed four games in his career, has never fumbled and is a superb receiver.

TE Marcedes Lewis: In 2018, Lewis was the afterthought addition at tight end following the team’s signing of Jimmy Graham, and he was an afterthought in the mind of then-coach Mike McCarthy, as well. Coaxing Lewis back for the 2019 season was one of Gutekunst’s best moves. “Big Dog” continues to be a tremendous blocker, a decent safety-valve receiver, a strong leader and favorite of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

G Lane Taylor: Taylor won the starting job at right guard, only to suffer a season-ending knee injury in the opener at Minnesota. After missing only two games from 2016 through 2018, he’s played in only three games the past two seasons. At age 31, is he an injury-prone veteran or is he the victim of two years of bad luck?

RB Tyler Ervin: From 2016 through his arrival in Green Bay late in 2019, Ervin had career numbers of 14 receptions for 91 yards and five carries for 15 yards. After rescuing the Packers’ return game with his late-season arrival last year, he was moved into a “slash” role for 2020. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay healthy. He caught 11 passes for 84 yards and ran 13 times for 67 yards in eight games. On the other hand, he went from 9.6 yards per punt return and 26.7 yards per kickoff return to 4.0 and 19.6, respectively.

T Jared Veldheer: After saving the Packers twice in 2019, Veldheer might have saved the day in the NFC Championship Game if not for COVID. The 33-year-old Veldheer spent the year out of football until the Colts needed an emergency left tackle. Signed to their practice squad, he was elevated to the gameday roster and started in Week 17 and the wild-card round. When the Colts were ousted, the Packers grabbed him. The Packers might be playing in the Super Bowl had he been available to replace struggling Rick Wagner against Tampa Bay.

WR Tavon Austin: With Tyler Ervin on injured reserve and the return game being laughably bad, the Packers went for a Hail Mary by signing Austin on Dec. 1. The Hail Mary wound up being a wounded duck that fell incomplete. In six games (including playoffs), he caught five passes for 20 yards, averaged 6.2 yards on five punt returns and had more fumbles (one) than 10-yard plays (zero). He’s still fast and he fit in the locker room.

Add us as a preferred source on Google