Over the next month, the Green Bay Packers will attempt to achieve the delicate balance between keeping a talented roster intact and shaving tens of millions of dollars worth of commitments off of the salary cap.
It won’t be easy. But it’s not impossible. The Packers are prepared to go all-in around quarterback Aaron Rodgers again in 2022, so the team is going to have to pull just about every meaningful salary cap lever between now and the start of the new league year to avoid cutting veteran players while also retaining internal free agents.
We don’t know exactly what cap mechanisms the Packers will use over the next month, but last year provided something of a blueprint. Restructuring veteran contracts, using void years and pushing money to the future will all be part of the plan. We can also estimate a realistic level of savings from each potential move, providing a step-by-step guide.
Here’s a pathway to the Packers staying all-in while also creating the cap space necessary to get under the cap without gutting the roster.