Ever since the final snap of the 2017-2018 NFL season ended for the Green Bay Packers, the eyes of fans have been on the off-season. The perspective of having a higher-than-usual draft pick in this year’s draft, coupled with the many offseason changes in the coaching and front office ranks made for an interesting offseason.
Outside of the coaching and front office ranks, there really has not been much news that has involved the team. With the combine currently underway and rumblings of directions are going to go in both the draft and free agency, here are some potential headlines that could shape Green Bay’s offseason.
Aaron Rodgers’ new contract
With the consistent increase in value teams are putting on quarterbacks, the price has also increased. Players like Matthew Stanford and Jimmy Garoppolo have all gotten massive contracts even without being in the top echelon of current QB’s.
With Rodgers under contract for the next two seasons, the need to extend him is not that huge. However, with his career and his stats, it remains to be proven if there is another QB that deserves more money than him.
On this, it is a matter of when, not if, this happens. Look for AR to become the highest paid player in NFL history, topping out around $30 million/year.
Quarterback depth
Sticking with the quarterback position, last year made it evident how important having a good backup QB is. Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles stepped in admirably for Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to a championship, while Brett Bundley truly showed who he was.
Head coach Mike McCarthy came out and said last week that Hundley was just not in the position to succeed last year as he was thrown into the situation with not enough training and practice beforehand. With this being the case, look for Green Bay to add competition for Hundley in the offseason.
Veteran QB’s like Sam Bradford and Ryan Fitzpatrick, among others, are viable options for the Packers if they don’t receive any consideration for a starting nov elsewhere. In the draft, there are decent Day 2 and 3 options that could push Hundley in training camp as well.
Bringing in outside help
With this being the first season that general manager Brian Gutekunst will be at the helm, it will be interesting to see if he sticks to the Ted Thompson status quo or if he dives into free agency and gets the team some help.
Cornerback is a strong position that offers up a plethora of options in the free agent pool. If Gutekunst wanted to try and reshape the defense, adding a Malcolm Butler could go a long way to helping the Packer defense become what it once was.
Got ideas for what could shape the offseason? Leave your thoughts below!
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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