Extra Point: Packers, Julio Jones and Salary Cap

Could the Green Bay Packers fit Julio Jones into their salary cap? Yes, but with a huge caveat, as a cap expert explains.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers led the NFL in scoring and Aaron Rodgers won NFL MVP honors.

If the Packers were to trade for Atlanta receiver Julio Jones, would the offense be even better?

Would the acquisition of Jones entice Rodgers to rejoin the Packers for at least the upcoming season?

The answer to the first question is yes, assuming Rodgers was the man throwing the passes. The answer to the second question is it would be a necessity.

According to the NFLPA, the Packers are only about $2.7 million under the 2021 salary cap. Jones’ cap charge for the upcoming season is a lofty $23.05 million. Clearly, the math doesn’t work out.

However, the math doesn’t work out for the cap-strapped Falcons, either. If Atlanta were to trade Jones, which seems likely according to The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz, a deal would have to be done after June 1. That’s when the Falcons, using some of the league’s accounting tricks, could realize $15.3 million cap savings.

According to Brad Spielberger, who is a salary-cap analyst for Pro Football Focus and contributor to OverTheCap.com, Jones’ cap charge for Green Bay would be $15.3 million in 2021. That is the amount of his base salary.

In theory, the Packers could make that happen. They still haven’t shaken their two big money trees: Rodgers (via a restructure) and Davante Adams (via an extension).

“A Rodgers extension could clear around $10 million, maybe a little more. Then they’d need to extend Adams, as well,” Spielberger said.

Adams has a cap charge of almost $16.8 million for 2021, his final season under contract. One potential extension would cut that down to about $11.2 million.

Doing the math, new deals for Rodgers and Adams would create $15.6 million of cap space. That would be just enough to get Jones onboard, though more cap space would be required once the regular season begins to field a practice squad and handle in-season roster moves.

And that doesn’t even address the massive elephant in the room: 2022. Green Bay is a staggering $33.7 million over a projected salary cap of $203 million in 2022, according to OverTheCap.com. Any money created with a Rodgers restructure in 2021 would have to be paid off in 2022 and beyond. The good news is Jones’ 2022 and 2023 cap charges would only be his base salaries of about $11.5 million. Thus, Green Bay could move on following a one-year rental, though that would be an expensive rental in terms of draft capital.

“They technically could” acquire Jones, Spielberger said, “but I think it’s borderline impossible given the 2022 cap situation.”