Packers’ Recent History in Free Agency Paints Somewhat Surprising Picture

INDIANAPOLIS – For years, former Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson treated free agency like a check-engine light. It was something easily ignored, for better or worse. Perhaps the best example was 2012. When Jeff Saturday was on a free-agent visit, Thompson was scouting an NAIA defensive tackle.

Compared to Thompson, current Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spends money in free agency like the proverbial drunken sailor.

Compared to his peers, though, Gutekunst isn’t too far removed from his predecessor.

Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com examined how much money teams spent in NFL free agency during the six offseasons from 2020 through 2025. Including all players signed to contracts of at least $2.0 million – thereby eliminating fliers like the Packers took last year on Isaiah Simmons and Mecole Hardman – the Packers have signed a league-low nine free agents. The league median is 28; the other NFC North teams average 29.

Only the Buccaneers and Ravens spent less money on free agents than Green Bay’s $79.75 million per year. For the rest of the NFC North, the Vikings average $229.6 million, the Bears $194.2 million and the Lions $155.4 million. That’s an average of $193.0 million per team.

Packers Do Spend ... Sometimes

Of course, the timeline used by Fitzgerald conveniently ignores Gutekunst’s free-agent spending spree in 2019, when he signed Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Billy Turner and Adrian Amos to four-year contracts worth a combined $182.0 million. So, it’s not as if Gutekunst is the miserly Scrooge.

Nonetheless, Gutekunst kept the team checkbook mostly locked in the safe in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2024, he made big splashes on Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs, and he did it again in 2025 with Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs. The total value of those contracts was $239 million.

While the Packers might dip their toes into the free-agent pond only rarely, when they do, they dive head-first.

The average Packers free agent signs a contract worth $8.86 million per season. Only the Rams have a higher average at $9.26 million. So, to mix sports metaphors, the Packers are swinging for the fences rather than looking to hit a few singles.

“I do think it is fair to question if some of these teams should consider taking a little more risk with some signings from the outside,” Fitzgerald summarized. “I can understand the feeling that teams like the Jets, Jaguars, Giants, etc. probably taking mid-tier player values way too high in hopes that they can become starters for their team, but sometimes the more playoff-ready teams can use that added depth and it could be worth it to pay up for it.

“For teams like Green Bay and Baltimore, who haven’t had the great playoff success, maybe it should at least be more of a discussion point.”

The road to free agency will start this week at the Scouting Combine, when general managers and agents hold exploratory talks to set the stage for the unofficial start of free agency on March 9.

What Will Packers Do in 2026?

An interesting free agency awaits for Gutekunst. The Packers are about $3.38 million in the hole, which ranks 20th in the league but is the best figure in the NFC North. He’ll have some easy levers to pull with the potential releases of Elgton Jenkins and Rashan Gary providing a little more than $30.5 million of cap relief. A presumptive contract extension for Devonte Wyatt could push that past $35 million.

Along with some contract restructures, Gutekunst should be able to create enough cap space to be active in free agency if he chooses. Without a first-round pick, he might be inclined to do so. However:

Any spending might lean more toward street free agents, since signing unemployed veterans won’t impact the compensatory-picks ledger. The Packers could be in position to get the maximum of four, with potential third-round picks for Malik Willis and Rasheed Walker.

Any free-agent dollars spent now could impact potential contract extensions for Tucker Kraft and other young standouts entering their final season under contract.

“A lot of that will be dependent on the decisions we make with the roster right now and what we do,” Gutekunst said a couple weeks ago. “But I believe we have all the flexibility to do what we need to do. We also have a bunch of young players – really good players – that we would like to keep around here for a while, so we’ll work through that.

“But I feel good about our flexibility. I think the last few years, Russ (Ball) has done such a good job of keeping us at a point where, if opportunities present themselves, we’re never not able to do those things, like Micah last year. So, I feel really good about it.”

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