The Green Bay Packers enter the 2020 offseason with fewer needs than in 2019, but there are a few key unanswered questions. Between free agency and the draft, the Packers need to address the following in some way: offensive tackle, inside linebacker, and wide receiver.
For the purpose of this exercise, we’ll assume the Packers cut Jimmy Graham and Lane Taylor to add cap space. We’ll also assume the Packers extend Kenny Clark. Added together, including a reserve fund for in-season acquisitions in addition to the new draft picks, the Packers should have somewhere around $13 million in cap room. That leaves the following roster issues to address:
- Offensive tackle: re-signing Bryan Bulaga is the path of least resistance as known quantities, but as we detailed here, there’s some volatility given Bulaga’s injury history. Free agents, be it your own or others’, are being paid for future production. Past production can only provide context.
- Inside linebacker: The Packers played predominately with Blake Martinez and B.J. Goodson. Both Martinez and Goodson will no longer be Green Bay Packers once free agency begins. The cost to retain Martinez’s services is likely to be higher than the Packers are willing to pay; even so, the roster has few “known quantity” answers. Oren Burks has struggled to stay in the lineup, Curtis Bolton, the 2019 training camp surprise, is an undrafted free agent, and Ty Summers is a seventh-round flyer.
- Wide receiver: The Packers can ill-afford to trot out fringe-roster level talent with Davante Adams and expect the offense to make a clear improvement.
- Kicker: Mason Crosby is a free agent. Retaining him would cost the Packers somewhere between $2-4 million. While not tons of money, it would be a significant portion of the Packers’ available cap space.
The dilemma: the Packers have three clear roster holes but limited cap space to address them. Below, we’ll detail a few plausible scenarios, all of which will prioritize addressing the needs in different ways.
- Re-sign Bulaga ($10 million cap hit), draft linebacker Kenneth Murray or Patrick Queen at No. 30, draft best available receiver in the second round.
- Let Bulaga walk, re-sign Jared Veldheer ($3 million cap hit), draft an offensive tackle in the first round (Josh Jones), draft the best available wide receiver in the second round (such as Van Jefferson, Denzel Mims, or KJ Hamler). Draft a linebacker in the third round (potential options: Akeem Davis-Gaither, Malik Harrison).
- Cut Corey Linsley (saves $8.5 million) and start Lucas Patrick at center in the interim. Re-sign Bulaga ($10 million). Sign linebacker Nick Kwaitkoski (at an estimated average annual value of $6 million). Draft a wide receiver at No. 30 (one of: Jalen Reagor, Justin Jefferson or Tee Higgins); draft a second tight end at No. 62 (either Hunter Bryant or Adam Trautman); draft developmental interior offensive lineman at (Matt Hennessey); draft inside linebacker at No. 136 (potential options: Troy Dye, Logan Wilson).
- Let Bulaga walk, move Elgton Jenkins from left guard to right tackle and start Lucas Patrick at left guard. Sign linebacker Cory Littleton in free agency. Draft a playmaking receiver at 30 and a developmental offensive tackle prospect in Rounds 2-4, while also finding depth at tight end, guard and linebacker.
- Trade a second-round pick for Robert Woods ($8 million). Release Corey Linsley (saves $8.5 million) and insert Lucas Patrick into the starting center role. Re-sign Byran Bulaga ($10 million). Draft the top receiver on the board in the first round and a linebacker in the third round.
- Let Bulaga walk but restructure Corey Linsley’s deal. Sign former Eagles LB Nigel Bradham to a cheap deal. Sign A.J. Green, Robby Anderson or Sammy Watkins in free agency (roughly $10 million). Trade up for Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas or take USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson. Grab best available receiver or linebacker in the second round.