It’s time to address the elephant in the room. Cornerback Kevin King is still on the market, and as unpopular as this may be with a portion of Packers fans, it would be in the best interest of the team to bring him back.
As a second round pick in Ted Thompson’s final draft class as GM, Kevin King was viewed by some to be the answer to the Packers’ woeful secondary of the prior season. Coming off of a blowout loss in the NFC Championship where Ladarius Gunter hung on to Julio Jones for dear life — while still allowing him to put up 180 yards and two scores — the Packers were ready for Kevin King to fix all of their problems on defense. He of course, did not.
That’s not to say he was bad though, King spent his first three years with the Packers as a solid player who just struggled to stay healthy. King even put a very high caliber year as a starter under his belt in 2019, when he led the team in interceptions with five, and recorded a staggering 15 pass breakups.
The Packers would end up double dipping at the cornerback position in rounds one and two of the 2018 draft, signaling that King alone wouldn’t be the answer. The expectations of the 33rd pick in the 2017 draft may have been too high, and this may or may not play a part in why some people feel the way they do about him. Regardless of King’s less-than-stellar performance in 2020 and 2021, or his injury troubles, the fact remains that he would help the team.
King’s Potential Role
Despite the fact that the Packers may currently have a top 5 group of defensive starters in the league there’s always discourse surrounding their lack of depth. These discussions certainly address a real issue, and it’s an issue where King can be of service. Kevin King, if signed, would likely end up no higher than the fourth cornerback on the depth chart behind Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, and Rasul Douglas. Having depth at the cornerback position is vital even without considering the likelihood of starters suffering injuries. If Kevin King is on the roster, he stands to be a change of pace player with plenty of real playing experience, and that experience is invaluable.
This of course all hinges on if King wants to sign a probably cheap deal, and be a backup. Despite limited reporting being available on the subject, it’s likely that the Packers have already at least kicked the tires on a deal with King. The issue remains that while it makes sense for the Packers to want him back, he may want to take his chances elsewhere. For the sake of this exercise, let’s assume a deal can get done for the right price.
Weathering the storm of injuries throughout a year is something every team has to deal with, but championship teams usually have trustworthy backups that often have some experience starting. If an injury strikes one of the Packers top three corners its best to have someone with a ton of experience as a starter step in.
Will The Packers Re-Sign King?
Like previously mentioned, Brian Gutekunst has likely already inquired about King to some degree. The fact remains that King would obviously need to be willing to serve mostly as a backup and the packers would need to strike a reasonable deal with him that keeps both sides happy.
At this point in the offseason it seems unlikely, but there’s no real reason for anyone specifically being against bringing King back for the right price.
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Zack is a college student and cheesehead from California. When he’s not in class or writing, you can find him talking about the Packers on Twitter at @Zack_Upchurch.
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