The Time Is Now for Packers to be Super

With so many of their best players playing on inexpensive rookie contracts, the time is now for the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl.

Jacob Westendorf | Jun 3, 2024

Romeo Doubs soars to celebrate Luke Musgrave's touchdown against the Rams. / William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK

If you’ve sat in the Lambeau Field stands during a TV timeout, you’ve heard a wide range of music that plays through the speakers in the stadium.

Occasionally, they play one song that is appropriate for the 2024 version of the Green Bay Packers.

Atreyu’s The Time is Now.

This time a year ago, the Packers were a team in transition.

With Jordan Love surrounded by the youngest group of receivers and tight ends in the NFL, even the brightest of optimists would have admitted they weren’t sure what to expect.

A clunky start to the season gave way to a strong finish, with one theme emerging despite the team’s disappointing 24-21 loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.

The time for the Green Bay Packers to win is now.

They are not the favorites to win the NFC North. That title belongs to the Detroit Lions.

The last time those teams met, the Packers had a wire-to-wire 29-22 victory on Thanksgiving in Detroit. The team has to feel good about its chances when it faces off against the Lions this year.

With rookie quarterbacks, the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears are teams in transition.

JJ McCarthy and Caleb Williams were first-round picks, giving those teams hope for the future. In the most realistic world, those two players, even if they are destined to be great, likely will go through some growing pains in their rookie season.

The rest of the conference has teams the Packers have played closely with or beaten altogether.

The 49ers won the conference, and the Packers outplayed them for a majority of that contest on the road. They demolished the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium the week prior. The Philadelphia Eagles collapsed down the stretch last season. The NFC South is a mess.

Love is going to get a contract extension sooner or later. It’ll likely be in excess of $200 million.

He’s not the only player due for an extension in the near future.

The 2022 and 2023 draft classes, largely seen as massive successes for Brian Gutekunst, might be impossibly expensive to retain. The 2022 draft class, which includes Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Zach Tom, will be headed to free agency after the 2025 season.

In a salary-capped league, it’s unlikely the Packers are going to be able to keep all of those players.

A year later, the 2023 class that includes Lukas Van Ness, Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft and Dontayvion Wicks, are scheduled to become free agents.

If those players secure second contracts, they are not going to come back cheap. Receivers and pass rushers, in particular, are expensive.

Even with Love’s looming extension, Green Bay’s offense in 2024 is set to be one of the most cost-efficient in the NFL. The only players currently playing on second contracts are running back Josh Jacobs and guard Elgton Jenkins.

The defense is more expensive but has all of its players under contract and in their prime.

Xavier McKinney was brought in to stabilize a safety room that was one of the worst in football a season ago. His salary-cap charge will rise from $7.8 million in 2024 to $17.6 million in 2025. Jaire Alexander, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary have played at a high level as recently as a year ago. They all have potential to be stars.

Walker, Wyatt and Eric Stokes could benefit from Jeff Hafley’s new, attacking scheme.

If all of those things click, the Packers’ roster could be set up for a Super Bowl run.

Couple that with half of their division likely going through a transition, their schedule may be softer than what meets the eye.

Green Bay’s roster is arguably at its peak.

It takes much more than that to win a Super Bowl, but there is no better time than right now for the Packers to strike.

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Published Jun 3, 2024|Modified Jun 3, 2024

JACOB WESTENDORF

Jacob Westendorf, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2015, is a writer for Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: jacobwestendorf24@gmail.com History: Westendorf started writing for Packer Central in 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobWestendorf Background: Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.