Packer Central

‘Urgency,’ Free Agency and Packers’ Ability to ‘Compete for Championships’

While the Packers acted with “urgency” at the start of the offseason, a quiet last week-and-a-half leads to a disconcerting reality in the quest to start “competing for championships.”

Bill Huber

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst at the Scouting Combine
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst at the Scouting Combine / Bill Huber/Packers On SI
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said two profound things a few days after a one-and-done postseason.

The first was about urgency.

“I think for me, the thing that’s been on my mind as we concluded this season is we need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency,” Gutekunst said at Lambeau Field. “These opportunities don’t come [every year and] the life of a player in the National Football League is not very long.

“We’ve got a bunch of good guys in that locker room, we’ve got a bunch of talented guys in that locker room, and I think it’s time that we started competing for championships, right? I think they’re ready.”

Before that, he offered a word of warning about free agency.

“The opportunities that present themselves, whether that be free agency or trade, are different every year,” Gutekunst said. “Every year there’s not going to be a Josh Jacobs or a Xavier McKinney out there to go get.”

Of course, the line about “urgency” was seized upon as a signal that the general manager would act aggressively this offseason to build a team good enough to not just hang around with the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions but beat them in January.

To an extent, Gutekunst did act with urgency. Just like he did with McKinney and Jacobs last year, he struck twice on Day 1 of free agency this year with offensive lineman Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs. All four contracts were for four years. Banks beat McKinney by $10 million and Hobbs and Jacobs got matching money.

That’s act-with-urgency money.

However, too many turned a deaf ear to Gutekunst’s other point. This group of free agents was widely disparaged by NFL executives. With soaring salary caps, most teams successfully locked up their best young players. That meant more dollars chasing fewer resources – players, in this case. It’s the classic definition of inflation.

You think that $5.79 bag of Lays is a bad deal, check out the price to acquire 32-year-old Davante Adams or injury-prone 31-year-old Cooper Kupp.

None of this is to excuse Gutekunst for his lack of activity this offseason. It would be impossible to state that the Packers haven’t lost ground in the NFC North, and they seem no closer to competing for a Super Bowl.  

The Lions, who swept the Packers and are the reigning NFC North champions, are at least a little better with D.J. Reed replacing Carlton Davis at cornerback and the addition of Ray Lopez to the defensive line. With the healthy return of Aidan Hutchinson – the biggest “addition” any team made this offseason – the Lions might be in a league of their own in the North.

The Vikings, who swept the Packers, added Ryan Kelly and Will Fries to the interior of their offensive line, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to the defensive line and Jordan Mason to the backfield. Losing Sam Darnold might be a big deal. Or maybe the Vikings are so good that they can win enough games through J.J. McCarthy’s growing pains to be a force in December and beyond.

The Bears, who almost swept the Packers, are probably the most improved team in the league. They nuked the middle of the offensive line by adding Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman, and also signed Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo to their defensive line. If coach Ben Johnson is as good as advertised, the Bears could be poised for a meteoric rise.

Maybe Green Bay closed a bit of ground on the Eagles, who swept the Packers and won the Super Bowl but lost defensive end Josh Sweat, defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Darius Slay and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson this offseason.

But Eagles general manager Howie Roseman had built a deep enough roster to absorb some of those departures, and he made a couple budget signings with pass rusher Azeez Ojulari and cornerback Adoree Jackson.

The Packers, as we all know, went 0-6 against the Eagles, Lions and Vikings and 1-5 against the NFC North. That’s a sizable gap.

If “it’s time that we started competing for championships,” as Gutekunst said, how on earth are the Packers going to compete for much more than a wild-card berth?

With a slightly above-average starting guard and an injury-plagued defensive back being the only big additions in free agency and with a modest amount of draft capital after getting bonus picks for trading Adams and Rodgers, the Packers are going to put it in the hands of their quarterback and improving from within.

Just like they have seemingly forever.

At least Aaron Rodgers, whose career took flight during his second season as Green Bay’s starter, had a stud group of receivers to help him carry the franchise on his back. Jordan Love, who limped through a disappointing second season as the starter, doesn’t have that luxury. Mecole Hardman was a nice addition as a better Bo Melton but he’s not the missing piece to the passing attack.

At the Scouting Combine, Gutekunst was asked about “urgency” and what it would mean to his approach.

“Our process won’t change. I think it doesn’t really change a lot as we approach free agency and the draft,” Gutekunst said.

He stayed true to his word. He was aggressive at the start and typically conservative thereafter. There’s logic in not overpaying for past-their-prime former stars or players who never will be stars. But, at some point, it’s fair to wonder if being conservative – telling everyone else to act with urgency but not applying that word to building the roster – will ever get the franchise over the finish line.

Ten wins and the playoffs would be an accomplishment for a lot of franchises. (Hello, Chicago.) But, as we’ve said countless times, this is Titletown. About a week-and-a-half after the start of free agency, the Lombardi Trophy seems as far away from the Packers today as it did when they were losing to the Vikings, Bears and Eagles to end last season.

More Green Bay Packers News

Published |Modified
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.