Friday morning, we learned that the Green Bay Packers had restructured the contract of Aaron Jones. That left behind little question of whether or not the star running back would still be in a Packers uniform next season. It was also such excellent timing for me who had an article published a few hours later that talked about whether a rookie running back could replace Jones or AJ Dillon. Insert heavy sarcasm here. In my defense, my article mainly meant the 2024 offseason, but I digress. With the cap issues that still remain in Green Bay, we’ll need a little more help than just Aaron Jones. So, who else on the roster could be next for the Packers to restructure?
It seems a bit odd to be discussing restructuring Jaire Alexander’s contract considering him signing a new deal was a hot topic only nine months ago. Well, when that deal was signed, Alexander was only hitting the books in 2022 for $7M. This coming season, he’s slated to have a cap hit of $20.2M.
That number of course, only increases as the years go on for Alexander. But it might be a good time for the Packers to minimize it in the here and now.
Jaire Alexander is coming off an excellent return from his AC joint injury which kept him out 13 games in 2021. You could say that he basically returned to form in 2022. He recorded 14 passes defensed and a career-high five interceptions this past season. The argument could also be made that Alexander is the emotional leader of the Packers defense. His attitude and swagger are infectious for his fellow defenders and the fans as well. Nailing him down to a big contract was a must for the Packers, but now they’re financially paying for it. Hopefully they can get in a restructure with Jaire that doesn’t involve kicking too much money down the road.
This one is also a little hard to swallow considering Kenny Clark restructured his contract last year around this time as well. But, at a cap hit of $23.9M in 2023, Clark is again a very likely candidate.
His 2022 production almost mirrored that of 2021 but with one more game. Clark still has the capability to be a monster in the middle even entering his 8th season in the league. I will attest till I’m blue in the face that Clark could probably be much more productive if he had some more help. He never seems to have another 1-2 linemen that can be the force they need to be to ensure Kenny Clark isn’t always just limited to eating up double-teams.
In my opinion, we’re paying high dollar for Kenny Clark’s potential. Not exactly his stat-line. Like Jaire Alexander I believe he’s worth every penny. But when he gets compared to being just one step under say, Aaron Donald, it would be nice to see the stats come with that.
Nonetheless, I think Clark is next in line for a restructure to help this year’s cap.
Uh oh, clutch your pearls anti-Rodgers returning mob! They’re coming for you!
Of course, we don’t know if 12 is returning, I’m hoping we find out in the next week or so though. But if he does, he needs to restructure his contract.
If the legendary QB emerges from his dark world deciding Green Bay is his only destination, and the Packers oblige, he’s due for a lovely $31.6M cap hit. I don’t know what a restructure would look like for Rodgers, but I would like to hope he’d at least cut $10-15M off that hit to ensure his roster stays somewhat intact for one more season. You want to come back? You have to play nice and help out your squad.
Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to PackersTalk as well as CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter at @gmeinholz. for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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