One Month Until NFL Free Agency: Three Packers on Best-Available List
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With NFL free agency set to officially begin in exactly one month, there will be no need for Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst to rob Peter to pay Paul. That’s because he might not have a single free agent that he feels he must absolutely re-sign.
Dan Pizzuta of The 33rd Team published a list of 157 free agents broken down by 12 position groups. Only three Packers made the cut.
Jon Runyan is No. 7 among guards. He probably will be the most sought-after of Green Bay’s free agents. With 50 consecutive starts and a strong track record in pass protection – he finished seventh in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency in 2023 – Runyan will be an instant starter for some team in 2024. It just won’t be the Packers, who gave ample playing time to 2022 third-round pick Sean Rhyan to get ready for next season.
AJ Dillon is No. 12 among running backs. With Aaron Jones in and out of the lineup for most of the season, the Packers needed Dillon to rise to the occasion. He did not. Getting similar numbers of carries, Dillon went from 803 yards and a 4.3-yard average in 2021 to 770 yards and a 4.1 average in 2022 to 613 yards and a 3.4 average in 2023. For such a big, muscular man, he breaks staggeringly few tackles.
Keisean Nixon is No. 12 among cornerbacks. Nixon was the sole piece of stability in the secondary as the primary slot defender for all 17 games. According to Pro Football Focus, 32 defensive backs played at least 200 coverage snaps in the slot. In that group, Nixon was 16th in passer rating (98.7), 22nd in yards per snap (1.25) and 31st in yards (535). On special teams, he’s the back-to-back All-Pro returner, though the NFL’s war on kickoff returns diminishes that importance.
And that’s it. While the Packers have 12 players set to become unrestricted free agents, none of them are game-changers who will be in great demand when the free-agent negotiating window opens on March 11 and the signing period begins on March 13.
The other nine are tight ends Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis, offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, inside linebackers Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch, cornerback Corey Ballentine and safeties Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens.
What the Packers do at safety – a key position for new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley – will be fascinating. They only have Anthony Johnson and Benny Sapp under contract for 2024, so they’ll need at least some sort of veteran presence.
Will they give one more chance to Savage in hopes that Hafley’s scheme brings the best out of his skill-set? Will they re-sign Owens, who was a solid contributor? Or will they re-sign Ford, who is tied for 13th among safeties with five interceptions the past two seasons?
Or will they dive into free agency?
While Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Antoine Winfield Jr. will be too expensive, the Giants’ Xavier McKinney is an interesting schematic fit who is coming off a season of 116 tackles and three interceptions, the Ravens’ Geno Stone was second in the NFL with seven interceptions, the Patriots’ Kyle Dugger had 106 tackles this season and nine interceptions the past three seasons, and the Rams’ Jordan Fuller had three interceptions and three forced fumbles.
The salary cap will be a challenge, though Gutekunst said recently that he’ll have the ability to add to the roster.
“I think we’re getting to a little bit better spot than we have been in the past,” he said on Feb. 1. “It’s never perfect, but I do feel that whatever opportunities are out there to improve our team in free agency, that we’ll be able to do that, so I feel good about that.”
