Here’s How Packers Can Create Cap Space to Keep Adams with Millions to Spare

The Packers have made three moves to get closer to the cap. These series of transactions would give them ample financial flexibility for 2022.

Note: This story has been updated, thanks to Ken Ingalls pointing out what I forgot: Signing bonuses cannot be prorated over six seasons.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With the start of the league-year about two-and-a-half weeks away, the Green Bay Packers have taken care of almost half of their salary cap overage.

When they let the contracts for cornerback Kevin King, tight end Robert Tonyan, cornerback Chandon Sullivan and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell void last week, an additional $6.66 million was piled on top of Green Bay’s bloated cap. That pushed Green Bay to about $53 million over the cap.

With the Packers needing to get to the $208.2 million cap by March 16, the Packers have restructured:

- Defensive tackle Kenny Clark to save $10.89 million.

- Running back Aaron Jones to save $3.85 million.

- Left tackle David Bakhtiari to save $9.26 million.

That’s $24 million in cap savings, or about 45 percent.

That’s a good start but there’s a long way to go – especially if the Packers use the franchise tag on receiver Davante Adams at a cost of about $20 million. Here are some options.

- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (2022 cap charge of $46.66 million): The Packers could trade him and gain $19.82 million of cap relief. Of course, that’s not what the Packers want. They’d rather give him a contract extension to make sure he’s the team’s long-term starter.

Let’s do a simple-math extension of three years and $150 million – the rumored $50 million annual salary which may or may not be accurate. And let’s give him a $60 million signing bonus and tack on two void years just to make it a simple $12 million in annual bonus proration. The NFL minimum salary for a player with Rodgers’ experience is $1.12 million. So, you take that $1.12 million base salary, the $12 million in new bonus proration and the lingering $19.17 million in bonus proration from his old contract for a cap number of $32.29 million. That’s a savings of $14.37 million.

The Packers could create even more space by giving him a smaller signing bonus but start-of-year roster bonuses. Again, for simple math, let’s give him a $30 million signing bonus and $30 million in roster bonuses. A $1.12 million base salary, $6 million in new bonus proration and $19.17 million in old bonus proration would give him a cap number of $26.29 million, or a savings of $20.27 million. Those roster bonuses would be down-the-road problems but could be wiped away if he were to retire midcontract.

- Cornerback Jaire Alexander (2022 cap charge of $13.28 million): Alexander is slated to play on the fully guaranteed fifth-year option. Regardless of the team’s cap problems, extending the star cornerback is the world’s biggest no-brainer. In 2020, Jalen Ramsey signed a five-year, $100 million extension with the Rams. So, let’s take that and give him a $50 million signing bonus for easy math. With a minimum $1.035 million salary and a $10 million bonus proration, that would give him a cap number of $11.035 million. That’s a savings of about $2.26 million.

That’s good but the Packers could do better. So, let’s give him a $30 million signing bonus and an additional $20 million in start-of-year roster bonuses – money that the Packers can worry about a different day. The $1.035 million base salary and $6.0 million roster proration would give him a cap charge of $7.035 million – a savings of $6.26 million.

Or, the Packers could go with a four-year contract to take advantage of the ability to add a void year. (Alexander might prefer four years, since it would get him back into a free agency a year earlier and a year younger.) Sticking with that $20 million average, the Packers could go four years and $80 million with a $25 million signing bonus and $15 million in start-of-year roster bonuses. With the void to help with the math, the $1.035 million salary and $5.0 million bonus proration would give him a cap charge of $6.035 million, or a savings of $7.26 million.

- Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (2022 cap charge of $27.66 million): The Packers could give Smith a contract extension to keep him on the field while reducing his cap charge. More likely, the Packers could release him and save $15.28 million.

- Outside linebacker Preston Smith (2022 cap charge of $19.72 million): The Packers could dump Smith and save $12.47 million. That seems unlikely given his excellent season and the lack of depth. Last offseason, Cincinnati gave Trey Hendrickson a four-year, $60 million contract that included $25 million guaranteed. Let’s give Smith a similar contract but with $30 million guaranteed ($20 million signing bonus, $10 million in roster bonuses) and one void year to help with the accounting. That would be a $1.12 million base salary, $4.0 million in new bonus proration and $7.25 million in old bonus preparation. That adds up to $12.37 million, or a savings of $7.35 million.

- Receiver Randall Cobb (2022 cap charge of $9.53 million): Cobb is due a $7.875 million base salary and could be released to save almost $6.75 million. Would Rodgers balk at that? Would Cobb come back for less?

- Safety Adrian Amos (2022 cap charge of $11.98 million) and right tackle Billy Turner (2022 cap charge of $9.17 million): The Packers could release Amos and save $4.65 million but that seems foolish considering his excellent play and the lack of depth. The Packers could release Turner and save $3.36 million but that seems foolish considering his strong play and the ACL injuries sustained by Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins muddling the line. OverTheCap.com projected an extension for Amos could save $5.10 million and an extension for Turner could save $3.74 million. That’s a total of $8.84 million.

- Even more savings could be created by releasing defensive tackle Dean Lowry (2022 cap charge of $8.07 million) and kicker Mason Crosby (2022 cap charge of $4.735 million). However, defensive tackle is not one of Green Bay’s strengths and the Packers seem committed to Crosby at least kicking for his job in camp. So, let’s ignore those for now.

Going with the more aggressive transactions for Rodgers and Alexander, keeping Preston Smith but not Za’Darius Smith, releasing Cobb, extending Amos and Turner, and leaving Lowry and Crosby untouched, the Packers could create about $65.75 million in cap savings. That would give the Packers about $15.75 million of cap space even after franchising Adams – plenty of money to re-sign All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. The Packers could then save even more cap space by extending Adams, money that could be used for a midseason extension for Elgton Jenkins, who is entering his final season under contract.