Roster building is a 365-day-a-year job, as GM Brian Gutekunst likes to say, but at this stage of the offseason, the Packers roster is pretty well set. There will still be moves made on the back end of the roster, but with free agency and the draft behind us, the team the Packers have now is the group they will largely have throughout the summer.
Following the Packers’ offseason additions and subtractions from their roster, Over the Cap (OTC) has Green Bay with $21.27 million in available cap space, which is the 13th-most in the NFL.
On the Packers’ books this season will be $45.73 million in dead cap. Of that total, $18.14 million belongs to David Bakhtiari, $12.35 million belongs to Aaron Jones, and $5.45 million belongs to Darnell Savage.
There are still some incoming expenses that will impact that figure over the coming months. Draft picks Jordan Morgan, Edgerrin Cooper, and Javon Bullard still remain unsigned. OTC projects that the total cap hit for those three contracts in 2024 will be $4.34 million.
The Packers will also need cap space to assemble the eventual practice squad, along with space needed for the 52nd and 53rd players on the final roster. During the offseason, only the top-51 contracts count towards the salary cap. Ken Ingalls, who independently tracks the Packers’ cap situation, projects that those expenses will account for another $5.43 million in cap space.
On the flip side, after June 1st, the Packers will get an additional $10.57 million in cap space for releasing De’Vondre Campbell earlier this offseason with a post-June-1st designation. Presumably, a portion of that created cap space will go toward Jordan Love’s increased 2024 cap hit after he signs an extension.
Love’s current cap hit for 2024 is $12.75 million, but Ingalls estimates it will jump to the $15 million to $20 million range depending on how much Love earns and how the deal is structured.
The one realistic cap-saving maneuver that the Packers have left is if they were to sign Kenny Clark to an extension. Clark is entering the final year of his deal and comes with a hefty cap hit in 2024 of $27.49 million. An extension would lower that hit.
As you can tell, there are still several variables at play when it comes to projecting how much cap space the Packers are going to carry into the regular season.
However, not including any potential extension for Clark, the Packers could have between $12 million and $15 million available come Week 1. Some of that will go towards in-season transactions, including game-day elevations from the practice squad, but any cap space that goes unused in 2024 can be rolled over to the 2025 offseason, giving the Packers more flexibility at that time.