Of the Green Bay Packers’ 18 total free agents this offseason, three of them fall into the restricted free agent category. This includes offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, linebacker Krys Barnes, and tight end Tyler Davis.
Of the three free agent classes, the restricted free agent is the most nuanced. This is a player with three accrued seasons in the NFL. Technically they can negotiate with other teams, but the current team also has the ability to place a tender on that player, which oftentimes will severely limit the restricted free agent’s market.
There are first-round tenders, second-round tenders, an original round tender, and right-of-first-refusal tenders that can be placed, with each one coming with a fixed and predetermined salary for that season. In 2023, Over the Cap projects that a first-round tender will be worth $6.005 million. A second-round tender is worth $4.3 million. And a right of first refusal tender will cost $2.67 million.
If the original team places a second-round tender on their restricted free agent, for example, and there is an opposing team that wants to sign that player away, to do so, they would have to trade away a second-round pick (because the original team placed a second-round tender). The current team also still has the ability to refuse that offer and to retain the player. On the flip side, if no other team chooses to make an offer in this scenario or an offer is declined, the original team has to pay the restricted free agent the predetermined cost associated with the tender that was placed.
A right of first refusal tender means that the original team has the opportunity to match any contract offer that the restricted free agent receives from another team, but if they choose not to, there isn’t any draft pick compensation for them. In the instances where the original team doesn’t place a tender on the restricted free agent, they become an unrestricted free agent and can sign wherever they please.
When it comes to the Packers trio of restricted free agents, the only one that I foresee receiving a tender is Nijman, and likely a second-round one at that, given that he has proven to be a starting caliber player at an important position. In a league where finding reliable offensive tackles is no easy task, Nijman has proven to be a capable starter on either side of the offensive line.
With Green Bay in 2023, he will likely be competing for the starting right tackle job, and at worst, he will provide depth off the bench at either tackle position. In the grand scheme of the NFL salary cap, $4.3 million is a small price to pay for a potential starting tackle. For reference, Jonah Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals made $4.4 million in 2022 and was the 38th highest-paid offensive tackle.
As far as Barnes and Davis go, they are closer to league minimum players than the $2.67 million salary that comes with a right of first refusal tender, which is why I don’t believe they will be tendered.
Barnes is at a crowded linebacker position with Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell dominating the defensive snaps while Isaiah McDuffie is still on a rookie deal and has emerged as a core special teams player. Barnes, on the other hand, was a healthy scratch for several games in 2022. If Green Bay chooses to re-sign unrestricted free agent linebacker Eric Wilson, who was second on the team in special teams tackles, Barnes could wind up playing elsewhere this season.
Although I don’t expect Davis to receive a tender, unlike Barnes, I do expect him back with the Packers in 2023. For starters, the coaching staff and Brian Gutekunst often praised Davis last summer, and on top of that, he led the team in special teams snaps and plays a position in tight end where the Packers are very thin at this time.
Of the many decisions that Gutekunst has to handle this offseason, I imagine how he handles Green Bay’s restricted free agents will be three of the easier ones he has to make. The 2023 NFL league year begins on March 15th, which is also when free agency officially begins, following the two-day legal tampering period.
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