Packers Playing With One Arm and $248.3 Million Tied Behind Their Back

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the NFL, like all walks of life, money talks.

Players who are expected to be great are given enormous contracts based on the premise that great players will lead a team to great success. The Packers have one of the most top-heavy salary structures in the league, signifying a team with a lot of proven talent believing it’s in position to make a run at a championship.

Instead, the start of their season has been torpedoed.

The Packers have 10 players with an average salary of at least $12 million per season. These players should have led the team past the Vikings in Week 1 and pummeled the Jets into submission in Week 2. Instead, they are limping into Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons looking like just some random franchise with no real chance of contending for a Super Bowl.

Why? That’s simple. In terms of annual pay, here are the Packers’ 10 highest-paid players.

QB Jordan Love ($55.0 million)

Jordan Love is healthy (for now) but hasn’t been good enough. After a fabulous three quarters in the loss at Minnesota, he has missed the mark. He enters this week’s games ranked last in the NFL with a 52.1 completion percentage. For the Packers to have a chance, he’s going to have to be infinitely more efficient than he was against the Jets. Better pass protection and some semblance of a running game would help.

Edge Micah Parsons ($46.5 million)

Micah Parsons is sidelined following last year’s torn ACL. The come-from-behind victory over the Jets was their first victory since his injury. The Packers could have opened his return-to-play window this week but probably didn’t want to waste it on a short week.

“I try to keep my feet where they are, but it’s definitely going to be good when ‘1’ gets back out there,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “We got to focus on the Falcons and keep trying to be the best versions of ourselves. When that time comes, it’s going to come.”

WR Christian Watson ($23.0 million)

Christian Watson, who was given an enormous four-year, $92 million contract extension during the offseason, is ninth in the league with 18.8 yards per catch and tied for third with three touchdowns but is just 109th with a catch rate of 52.6 percent and is tied for the league high with three drops.

RT Zack Bako-Bewele ($22.0 million)

The Packers’ best offensive lineman – he finished third in the All-Pro voting at right tackle in 2024 – suffered a knee injury during the opening series against the Jets and will miss the rest of the season. The Packers’ late-season swoon last year started when he (and Parsons) suffered knee injuries at Denver.

“It’s definitely not what I anticipated happening, but you just got to get back to work and then start thinking about next year,” he said on Tuesday.

LG Aaron Banks ($19.25 million)

Aaron Banks, the Packers’ $77 million guard, missed Week 1 with a knee injury and the second half and overtime of Week 2 with a toe injury. He played well when he was in the lineup. With Bako-Bewele out, the Packers really need Banks to be a stabilizing force on an offensive line that will be filled with youth at every other position.

He would not have practiced on Monday or Tuesday, though.

TE Tucker Kraft ($18.75 million)

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) catches a pass against the New York Jets. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tucker Kraft got a four-year, $75 million contract extension on the eve of the opening game at Minnesota, then proceeded to provide three explosive gains in his first game back following last year’s torn ACL. Like the rest of the offense, he was a disappointment against the Jets with two catches and one fumble. He played all but one offensive snap during the come-from-behind win vs. New York.

Given the rest of the injuries, he’s going to have to raise his level of play back to his own standard. Presumably, the more he plays, the better he will play.

“Hopefully, [the win will] catapult us to 2-1, 3-1, 4-1,” he said. “That's the vision I have for this team is, we're going to make mistakes, but how can we come together in-game and come out on top.”

DT Devonte Wyatt ($18.3 million)

The Packers gave Devonte Wyatt a three-year, $54.9 million contract extension to get him off the expensive fifth-year option. Even while dealing with injuries, Wyatt had a total of 14.5 sacks and 102 pressures the past three seasons. This year, he has zero sacks and one pressure but has played a big role in the team’s strong run defense.

WR Jayden Reed ($16.75 million)

When the Packers gave Jayden Reed a three-year, $50.25 million extension at the start of the draft, it was the first big domino in the team locking up its premier passing-game weapons alongside Love. Reed missed only one game his first two seasons but missed 10 games last season following a broken collarbone and is out indefinitely following what the team has called a neck injury sustained on the second play at the Jets.

“We all love Bird,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “He’s one of those guys we all feed off, myself included. So, him going out like that hurt.”

S Xavier McKinney ($16.75 million)

Xavier McKinney rewarded the Packers for the big contract he signed in 2024 by earning first-team All-Pro in 2024 with eight interceptions and 11 passes defensed and second-team All-Pro in 2025 with two interceptions and 10 passes defensed. He’s off to a quiet start to this season but had a huge third-down stop late in the fourth quarter vs. the Jets.

RB Josh Jacobs ($12.0 million)

Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd (32) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass against the Jets. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Josh Jacobs, who is in Year 3 of a four-year contract signed in 2024, has the second-highest cap charge among running backs this season at about $14.5 million. The running game has been a nonfactor. With Jacobs on the exempt list and MarShawn Lloyd leading a committee approach in the backfield, the Packers enter Week 3 ranked last in rushing and 29th in yards per carry.

“Not having Josh out there, we know that. It is what it is,” Love said. “It sucks but I’ve got confidence in those guys. I think there’s a lot of stuff we can clean up and be better at and have some better runs.”

The Bottom Line

Combined, those 10 players are sucking up $248.3 million in annual salary. That’s more than double every other player on Green Bay’s roster.

Is it any wonder why the Packers are having such a hard time, with five of their highest-paid players not on the field?

Fortunately for the Packers, they are 1-1 with a chance to improve to 2-1 against the Falcons. Parsons will be back. Reed, presumably, will be back. Maybe Banks will get healthy and stay healthy.

For now, they’ve just got to survive and adapt.

“I think that’s just ball,” Love said on Tuesday. “That’s what we do OTAs, that’s what we do training camp and all these things for, is to get all those reps. Obviously, we’re all being coached (with) the same film. We all watch the same exact film every day. So, even though guys might not be getting the reps, we’re still learning, you’re getting all the coaching points.

“I think it’s just a big thing when you’re not playing, to be able to take all those reps, watch the guy in front of you. When you’re taking walk-through reps, be taking those mental reps, so when you get in there’s no kind of let-off. You’re able to go out there and, like I said, the expectations are the same for those guys. Nothing really changes. That’s just ball.”

Here are the updated Packers-Falcons injury reports. It's gone from bad to slightly worse on the offensive line. ⬇️https://t.co/Q6csxHckMM
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 22, 2026

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