Five Things from Gutekunst: Trading Bakhtiari, Adding Tight End, Safety Battle
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The New York Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers.
The Jets need an offensive tackle to protect Rodgers.
Rodgers’ best friend with the Packers is former All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari.
Bakhtiari probably would prefer to play for a championship contender than a rebuilding team.
The Packers probably feel good about their depth at offensive tackle.
That’s a lot of dots to connect for a potential trade of Bakhtiari to the Jets.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst took a flamethrower to that dot-filled piece of paper on Friday.
“Yeah, first off all, we’re not going to trade David, so let’s just get that out of the way because I know there’s been a little bit of chatter about that and it’s not going to happen,” Gutekunst said the day before a preseason game against the Patriots.
Trading Bakhtiari would not be without precedent. Heading into the 2016 season, then-Packers GM Ted Thompson released Josh Sitton even with Sitton coming off back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons. The Packers had grown tired of Sitton’s act, which led to the stunning move. There are no such issues with Bakhtiari. Plus, there’s the financial component of already giving him a hefty bonus as part of a contract restructure and the trivial cap savings.
“I think Dave’s a pro’s pro,” Gutekunst said. “What he went through was tough, it was tough on our football team, it was tough on him, and I think he’s really in a good place right now.”
Who Will Start at Safety?
There’s an adage that goes something like this: If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one. At safety, if you have seven safeties competing for one spot, do you have any?
Darnell Savage is a stone-cold lock for one starting job. How about the spot played so capably by Adrian Amos the past four years? Will the Packers line up in Week 1 with a legit starter?
“I would expect it to be,” Gutekunst said. “Again, we’ve got to see it happen, but I would expect it to be.”
With no real eye on bringing back Amos, Gutekunst reached into the bargain bin four times by re-signing Rudy Ford, adding Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore in free agency, and using a seventh-round pick on Anthony Johnson. All four of those players have worked with the No. 1 defense, with Owens probably taking more snaps than the other three combined.
“They all bring a little bit of a different skill-set to the table,” Gutekunst said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that all shakes out. This game and Seattle game, it’ll be important for somebody to step forward. I don’t know if anybody’s done that quite yet.”
Will Packers Sign Tight End?
Brian Gutekunst (Photo by Sarah Kloepping/USA Today Sports Images)
The Packers are short on tight ends following Tyler Davis’ torn ACL. The only transaction in response to the injury was moving receiver Dre Miller to tight end. Without Davis, Green Bay has only three “traditional” tight ends. Rookies Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, obviously, haven’t played in a game. Austin Allen, an undrafted free agent in 2022, hasn’t played in a game, either.
Over the next couple weeks, Gutekunst will keep one eye on Allen’s development and another on the waiver wire.
“I like our group as it is right now, but that’s certainly something we’ll look at as we get down to the cutdown day and beyond,” he said. “Losing Tyler, that’s a big loss for us because (of) all the things he did on offense and special teams. … So, we’ll be looking. Somebody’s going to have to fill that role and I think everybody’s going to have to pick it up a little bit to get beyond that. But I think we’ll always be looking at that spot.”
Will Packers Sign Kicker to Challenge Anders Carlson?
At punter, the Packers brought in a challenger for veteran Pat O’Donnell. At long snapper, the Packers brought in a challenger after signing Super Bowl champion Matt Orzech.
At kicker, sixth-round pick Anders Carlson has been flying solo for months. In training camp, Carlson has run hot and cold. His success rate of about 71 percent is about in line with his career numbers at Auburn. For a critical comparison, Mason Crosby made 86.2 percent last year and still only ranked 15th in the NFL.
But, unless Carlson completely melts down, he’s kicking with a leash that could go to the moon and back. The Packers knew there would be ups and downs and are prepared for what could be a bumpy ride with an eye on the potential payoff.
“Not right now,” Gutekunst said. “Certainly, that’s something as we go along, we’ll always take a look. We’re always prepared from an injury perspective and have all those things ready. But not something I would do any time soon.”
What’s Gutekunst’s Philosophy on Adding Players?
Gutekunst is taking a patient approach with his roster. At tight end, could he add someone with experience to replace Tyler Davis? At kicker, could he re-sign Mason Crosby for fear Anders Carlson will miss his first game-winning opportunity?
“Sometimes you just want to fill it on paper, and sometimes when you do that, that prevents you from a better opportunity that might be right around the corner,” he explained. “So, I think that’s something I’m hopefully better at now than I was at the beginning. But, at the same time, you have to know where you’re at, what part of the season you’re in. Sometimes you might need it right away. So, I think it’s really situational.
“But I do think the one thing you’ve always got to guard against a little bit is if you do have someone that might be able to fill the role in-house is taking away that opportunity by just going out and grabbing someone and then plugging them in that way. So, you’ve got to be careful of that.”
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