It’s possible the Green Bay Packers will now prioritize salary cap flexibility for this offseason’s free agency period over re-signing a few of the team’s looming free agents.
Even with Kenny Clark and David Bakhtiari signed to new deals, running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, center Corey Linsley and cornerback Kevin King all have expiring contracts following 2020.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst pointed to the shrinking salary cap and the potential increase in veteran cap casualties this offseason as a reason why he wants financial flexibility once the new league year opens.
“The players that might become available to us during the March period may be a little different than it has in the past, and we want to have some flexibility to do those things if we can,” Gutekunst said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “So I think it’s a combination of that. We’ve always believed that we’d like to take care of our own first — that’s very important to us. But we’d also like to have some flexibility to see what the market might bring in March.”
Revenue is down in 2020 due to COVID-19, meaning a massive salary cap reduction is coming in 2021. The cap could fall to as low as $175 million, creating hurdles for all teams.
Many teams, including the Packers, will have to make cuts to stay below next year’s cap. That means a bunch of veterans are likely heading to the chopping block once the 2020 season is over.
Gutekunst’s comments open up the possibility of the Packers passing on re-signing their biggest in-house free agents, at least initially, and focusing on what could be a horde of veterans cut from other teams and sent into a depressed market. With supply potentially outweighing demand and buying power limited, smart teams could get good players at terrific prices in March.
There’s even a chance Gutekunst could see cheap but quality veterans as better financial fits over paying current players such as Jones, Linsley and King. Also, the Packers will likely need to fill a few holes created by their own cuts, so having money available to participate in the market will be vital.
Could the Packers’ plan be coming into focus? Now that Clark and Bakhtiari are signed to long-term deals, the Packers can sit back and be patient, potentially using the oversaturated and depressed free-agent market to patch the holes left over in the roster with cheap veterans come March.