Getting Beneath Salary Cap Includes Smith Bros.

Combined, Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith are taking up about 22 percent of the Green Bay Packers' 2022 salary cap.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Green Bay Packers’ path to the salary cap runs well beyond MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

With a $27.66 million cap charge for the 2022 NFL season, Za’Darius Smith is the team’s second-most expensive player. With a $19.72 million cap charge, fellow outside linebacker Preston Smith ranks third. By league rankings, Za’Darius Smith is fourth and Preston Smith is 13th among edge defenders.

Combined, due to last year’s contract restructures, they are devouring about $47.4 million of the 2022 salary cap. That’s 22.8 percent.

With the Packers somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million over the cap, something has to give. Or, some things. There’s practically a 0 percent chance either player will play with those lofty cap numbers in 2022.

Za’Darius Smith, a Pro Bowler in 2019 and 2020 with 26 sacks those seasons but a nonfactor this past season due to a back injury that required surgery, seems destined to be released sometime before the start of the league-year on March 16. The Packers could release him and save $15.28 million, which would take care of about half of Green Bay’s remaining cap overage. He seems aware of that potential reality, having removed the Packers from his social media.

“He could be” part of the team in 2022, general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week. “I think obviously we’re going to have to do something there. That (cap) number is pretty high. It was disappointing we weren’t able to get him out there more this year with the injury. Obviously, you guys know how impactful he is out there as a pass rusher. There’s going to be some tough choices to make as we move forward. That’s one we’re going to have to look at.”

If Za’Darius Smith is likely a cap-saving cut, Preston Smith more likely is a cap-saving extension. He had a strong bounce-back season on the field and emerged as a key leader on the defense. With Rashan Gary, they held down at the fort with Za’Darius Smith missing almost the entire season.

With a new deal, Green Bay could cut his cap number in half. The question is how much the Packers are willing to invest after he yo-yo’d from 12 sacks and 55 pressures (according to PFF) in 2019 to four sacks and 26 pressures in 2020 to nine sacks and 62 pressures in 2021.

Gutekunst, however, saw those inconsistent numbers differently.

“I think you’re looking at some stats but, if you really look at Preston, he’s been pretty consistent throughout his career,” Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine on Tuesday. “He shows up and he’s been a playmaker throughout his career. I know the sack numbers have kind of gone up and down, but … we’d certainly like to keep Preston around.”

The Packers no doubt want to keep Gary, too. The Packers have exactly one month to activate the fifth-year option on Gary. If that’s the path the Packers choose, he would play the 2023 season under a fully guaranteed contract worth about $10.55 million, according to OverTheCap.com.

Preston Smith and Rashan Gary would give the Packers a strong starting tandem for 2022 and beyond. They need better depth, though, after the likes of Tipa Galeai and Jonathan Garvin provided few impact plays. With Green Bay’s cap problems, it’s likely that improved depth would be found in a strong draft class of edge rushers.