A tight salary cap situation and a big extension for Aaron Jones created a quiet first week of free agency for the Green Bay Packers.
In fact, they’ve been one of the quietest teams in the NFL since the start of the new league year.
The Packers and Los Angeles Rams are the only two teams that haven’t signed an outside free agent.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst needed to restructure a half-dozen veteran contracts just to fit Jones’ contract under the lowered salary cap before Wednesday’s start to the new league year. The team agreed to a four-year deal with Jones on Sunday, one day before the start of the legal tampering period.
This week, the Packers offered restricted tenders to Robert Tonyan and Chandon Sullivan and four different exclusive rights tenders, adding more money to the cap.
Without much in terms of spending power, the Packers have been content waiting in the shadows, hoping for the bargains that are often hard to find during the first few days of free agency.
The Packers have holes to fill on the roster. Cornerback, offensive tackle, defensive line, wide receiver and linebacker could all use some degree of veteran help. Finding cheap options at one or more of the positions after the first few waves of free agency could really open up the Packers’ options in the draft in April.
Thanks to a complicated cap situation, the Packers were predictably quiet during the first few days of free agency. Gutekunst can free up some space by converting Aaron Rodgers’ base salary into a signing bonus if there’s a mid-tier free agent or two he wants, but without other cap-freeing moves, the Packers will have to keep bargain shopping in free agency.
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