Packers Running Out of Rocks to Turn Over in Search of Cap Cash

Beyond releasing Randall Cobb, the Green Bay Packers have almost nowhere to turn to create the cap space necessary to build upon their roster.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are broke.

Not organizationally, of course. Lambeau Field serves as a 24/7 ATM, and they just made a few bucks via a stock sale. But cap-wise, they’re broke.

The Packers will somehow get below the salary cap by the 3 p.m. deadline. Maybe they’ll outright release Randall Cobb today. Whatever, they’ll figure it out.

The problem is they have almost nowhere else to turn, no ability to even stay status quo from a talent perspective, let alone improve a team that has fallen short in the postseason the past three years after spectacular regular seasons.

This might be the most top-heavy roster the NFL has ever seen. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, receiver Davante Adams, offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, defensive tackle Kenny Clark, outside linebacker Preston Smith, inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Jaire Alexander are playing under contracts that rank them among the most highly paid players at their positions in the league.

Rodgers, Adams, Bakhtiari, Alexander, safety Adrian Amos and Smith have cap numbers of more than $11 million for the 2022 season. Throw in Kenny Clark, who could be rounded up to $10 million, the Packers have seven players consuming 46.5 percent.

Moreover, cap problems led to the release of Za’Darius Smith and Billy Turner. Those transactions saved money on this year’s cap but at a cost of $17.23 million of dead money. Last year’s cap problems meant kicking all sorts of money into the future, meaning cornerback Kevin King ($3 million), tight end Robert Tonyan ($1.88 million), cornerback Chandon Sullivan ($970,000) and even Campbell ($808,000) add another $6.66 million of dead cap.

Added together, the high-priced players still under contract, this week’s releases and the kick-the-can leftovers from last year, that’s $132.7 million of cap money, or 56.7 percent of the cap. That’s more than the other 44 players who count on the offseason ledger.

This isn’t a criticism of general manager Brian Gutekunst or negotiator Russ Ball. Under the logical premise that great players win games, it’s the right approach. But it’s going to lead to a fascinating roster. Can the Packers’ great players win games – especially playoff games – or will all those minimum-wage players that are going to round out the depth chart not be up to the task? Will there be enough quality players in reserve when the inevitable injuries strike?

Because so many contracts were restructured last offseason and this offseason to handle the COVID-impacted cap, there are few stones left to turn over other than Cobb, whose cap number is a ridiculous $9.53 million. Releasing him would save about $6.75 million, which is about what the Packers need to get beneath the cap.

There are only three other players who could be released to create a decent amount of cap space: defensive tackle Dean Lowry, kicker Mason Crosby and tight end Marcedes Lewis.

To help with last year’s cap, Lowry’s contract was restructured with base salary turned into bonus and the insertion of three void years. His cap number for 2022 is $8.07 million. The Packers could release him and save $4.08 million (another $3.99 million of dead cap) but Green Bay’s defensive line already is paper thin. Kingsley Keke was released in January and Tyler Lancaster is a free agent. Clark, Lowry, T.J. Slaton and Jack Heflin are the only players under contract at the position.

Crosby’s contract also was restructured with base salary turned into bonus and the insertion of three void years. His cap number for 2022 is $4.735 million. The Packers could release him and save $2.395 million ($2.34 million of dead money). However, Gutekunst in February signaled Crosby would be back, noting the chaos around him last season and that a championship-caliber team requires a “championship kind of kicker.”

Lewis has a $2.08 million roster bonus due on Friday.

At least for Lowry and Crosby, those are small-potatoes moves, and chances are the Packers haven’t considered those as real financial tools for the here and now. The one thing the Packers must get done sooner than later is getting Adams off the franchise tag and onto a long-term contract. Getting that done would be a win-win. An extension would cut Adams’ cap charge of $20.145 million by at least in half, giving the Packers $10-plus million to sign the draft class, perhaps add a veteran and have an in-season piggybank. And it would give Adams the money and security he’s earned with a string of Hall of Fame-worthy seasons.

Adams wants to be the highest-paid receiver in the NFL. By annual salary that’s Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins at $27.25 million. A four-year deal worth $112 million would get Adams to $28 million per year. Guaranteed money in Year 2 and Year 3 could win over Adams, and the insertion of one void year at the end of the contract would help with the accounting. Of course, that means more financial pain in the future but who cares?

Reports earlier in the week talked of Adams’ unhappiness about being franchised. Whatever. Saber-rattling is part of every negotiation, especially when one side (Adams, in this case) has all the leverage. The pressure is on Gutekunst and Ball to pay – perhaps even overpay – to get Adams signed and to go about the business of assembling the best possible team under rather dire financial circumstances.