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This season, the Green Bay Packers will have a new look. Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, and Allen Lazard are just a few of the Packers’ longtime players who are no longer on the team.
Alongside the notable trade of Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, the Green Bay Packers also faced the departure of nine players through free agency. Three of those players went to New York City with Rodgers.
But this could just be the start. The Packers are building their team around Jordan Love, who is a bright young player. This could mean that they get rid of more starters in the offseason.
That being, which three Packers players are almost certainly going into their last season?
- Josiah Deguara, TE
Josiah Deguara should have a fantastic year. He did well in the preseason, and he could still be a big part of the team this year. Deguara is the Packers’ most experienced tight end, and he has already met Jordan Love.
But we can’t forget that Green Bay just picked up two tight ends in the draft. Deguara is versatile and could play more as an H-back this season, but with Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft on the team, he might not get as many chances to play tight end.
This offseason, the Packers let go of former starters Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, and it’s likely that they won’t bring Deguara back when his deal ends next spring.
- Darnell Savage, S
One spot that could change a lot in the offseason after this one is safety. Even though the Packers have added several safeties in recent months, there is still a lot of doubt after 2023.
At the end of the season, the contracts of Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore, Jonathan Owens, and Dallin Leavitt all end. Innis Gaines will be able to sign with any team he wants.
That leaves Anthony Johnson, who is a rookie and could be a starter in the next couple of years. A year from now, the Packers, who are +350 on bet on nfl games online to win the NFC North, may need to change their safety depth chart for players other than Johnson.
And that might mean getting rid of Darnell Savage. Last offseason, it was a surprise to everyone when the Packers picked up his fifth-year option. This meant that Savage would have a fully guaranteed final year of his deal in 2023.
The Packers will hope that Savage can get back to being as good as he used to be, but he hasn’t come close to that in the last two seasons. Pro Football Reference says that Savage gave up eight scores and a passer rating of 117.4 in 2021 when he was on defense. Last season, he gave up three scores, but he still had a high passer rating of 114.2.
Compare that to the 2020 season, when Savage gave up two scores and quarterbacks threw 67.3 per cent of the time.
Still, a problem is that Savage has missed 16 stops over the past two seasons. Savage basically has a year to prove himself. The Packers could start from scratch at safety in the summer after this one.
- David Bakhtiari, T
David Bakhtiari’s deal doesn’t end until the offseason after this one. However, there are a few reasons why this could be his last year in Green Bay.
Bakhtiari will be 31 in September and hasn’t finished a full regular season since 2019. The five-time All-Pro is a Packers star and has helped the team play well for years, but it might be best for everyone if he moves on.
This summer, the Packers have made it a point to get younger by replacing some of their older players with younger ones. Part of this is to help them reach their pay limit. Not counting the dead money the Packers will have to pay for Aaron Rodgers’ contract, Bakhtiari’s cap hit is now the biggest of anyone on the team. Over The Cap says that his cap hit will go up to $40.58 million in 2024.
It would be best for the Packers to get that number down. Bakhtiari would rather finish his career with a team that has a chance to win than stay with Green Bay. The Packers probably won’t be in the running for a Super Bowl in the next two years.
It seems likely that Bakhtiari won’t play for the Packers in 2024, whether they find a trade partner this year or next summer or just let the All-Pro tackle go next spring.