The Green Bay Packers are hitting the ‘reset’ button heading into the 2023 season. With that, oftentimes, comes a lot of cap-shedding and a surprise cut in camp. Aaron Rodgers is still on the books for about $40 million in 2023. Altogether, the Packers have over $57 million in dead cap, so a big chunk of the salary cap can’t be touched for this year’s roster. That means the Packers need to get creative with what they do have.
Last season, the Chicago Bears, who are completely rebuilding, shed a lot of cap space by trading or cutting veterans. With that, came a lot of dead money, leaving them with little cap space. One year of pain and then they entered the 2023 offseason with the most cap space in the league.
Green Bay is in a bit of a different situation. But like the Bears, they will have a year of tight spending, but then things could open up for them in 2024, especially if the cap goes up with the new TV money kicking in.
So in a season where cap space is tight and when a team is actively trying to get younger, could there be a surprise cut in an attempt to save some money? Maybe a veteran?
How Likely Is a Surprise Veteran Cut for the Packers?
I have a really hard time seeing the Packers cutting one of the few veteran players right now. They are a very young team, so if there is an aging veteran still on the roster, it’s probably because they are an important part of the team.
According to Over the Cap, the Packers’ top-paid players this season are David Bhaktiari ($21.3 mil), Kenny Clark ($12.9 mil), Rashan Gary ($10.9 mil), Jaire Alexander ($10.7 mil), Aaron Jones ($8.2 mil), Elgton Jenkins ($6.9 mil), and Preston Smith ($6.3 mil). Outside of Bhaktiari, who the Packers surely aren’t cutting this season, the largest salaries on the team really aren’t that large.
So if the Packers can’t save a significant amount of money by cutting a veteran from the team, then why do it? Especially in a year when they aren’t expected to be a Super Bowl contender.
Is Josiah Deguara a Cut Candidate?
One name I hear repeatedly about possibly being on the chopping block is Josiah Deguara. But even that is a reach in my mind. It would absolutely be a ‘surprise cut.’ The Packers drafted two tight ends in this year’s draft, which in many people’s minds probably indicated that they would be moving on from Deguara.
But I just don’t see why you would. They lost two tight ends this offseason. Robert Tonyan signed with the Bears and Marcedes Lewis is still a free agent. With the Packers actively trying to get younger, Lewis coming back would be a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ situation. I think the Packers want to see what they have in their young tight end group.
With the group having two rookies, Deguara has some value in being the veteran of the group. I understand he hasn’t had a ton of production to this point being a former 3rd-round pick. We, as Packers fans, know what happens when you get into Aaron Rodgers’ dog house. Deguara has been in it for a while. I think things will change with Love. He may not get a ton of targets in the passing game like we expect Luke Musgrave to get, but I’d expect him to get plenty of snaps in the upcoming season.
The only way I see Deguara getting cut before the season starts is if he vastly underperforms during camp and he would end up as the fourth tight end on the depth chart. But I think that is highly unlikely.
