Tomorrow is the day! Well, sort of. The the NFL’s New League Year actually begins on Wednesday at 3PM central time. But tomorrow is when NFL free agents can start coming to terms with NFL teams. Actually, if we are being accurate, NFL free agents’ respective agents can come to terms of agreement with clubs. Some people refer to this period as the “Legal Tampering Period.” And the Green Bay Packers will… probably not be very active in it.
Don’t get me wrong, some sort of Packers news will break inevitably. It just probably won’t be player acquisitions unless through trade. Kinda like what happened Saturday in the Colby Wooden for Zaire Franklin trade.
So, what sort of things should a Packers fan like yourself (hopefully, if you aren’t then you should consider joining us; we have wonderful cheesecake) be looking for?
Well, let’s discuss that:
Packers Cuts And Trades
The first thing that we, as fans, can pay attention to is what kind of cuts and trades that the Packers make. Exhibit A: Rashan Gary allegedly had his Instagram account hacked in which the hacker released a heartfelt goodbye message to Green Bay.
Looks pretty official to me, but what do I know? Now, the Packers aren’t a team to lay out their hand too early. Yes, Rashan Gary will likely not be in Green Bay. But, “all options are still on the table,” according to Brian Gutekunst. If this was authentic, then it would remove any leverage that the Packers would have in trade negotiations with teams. Not good. Because of the restructure of Xavier McKinney’s contract, Green Bay can drag this out for a while, just like with Jaire Alexander last season.
But, for the Packers to make any moves at all, they will need to either trade or cut players who haven’t performed up to standards and through which Green Bay can get some cap savings. Possible cut or trade candidates: Elgton Jenkins, Rashan Gary, Karl Brooks, any cornerback, and maybe (I doubt it) Josh Jacobs. They already traded away Colby Wooden.
Packers Free Agents and How Much They Get Paid!
Another area in which is of interest are the Packers own free agents. This is going to be one to watch for. Here are a list of notable Packers free agents: Rasheed Walker, Quay Walker, Romeo Doubs, Malik Willis, Kingsley Enagbare, and Sean Rhyan.
These free agents players matter because first of all, it’s good to see players that you have rooted for to get paid. But also, how much they get earn corresponds to what kind of compensatory pick that the Packers could acquire for the next year’s draft. If multiple of these guys get paid, then the Packers could find themselves with extra draft ammunition next spring. For more information about compensatory picks, click here.
My guess for the top four guys in order are the following: Rasheed Walker will get receive a ton a money as a left tackle. Teams are desperate for line play and Walker is going to paid very, very well. Malik Willis is second. Speculation among “experts” is that Willis will likely receive $40-$50 million. That is a lot of moola and will be a nice compensatory pick. Romeo Doubs will also get a nice pay day from someone. I imagine the 49ers would like someone as reliable as Doubs. Finally, Quay Walker will make some money, but inside linebackers just don’t generate as much of the cap percentage as other positions.
I’d expect the Packers earn quite a bit of draft compensation… unless.
Any Possible Player Acquisitions?
Unless they go all in. If the Packers value a player who is a free agent enough, then they might be willing to eat up some of their cap space and give up a high compensatory pick in order to pick up that player. Personally, I only see one player worth that and that’s Tyler Linderbaum, the center from the Ravens. The thing is, I doubt that. He is going to be much sought after and will require a ton of money to get. Green Bay might have some benefit in the fact that Linderbaum grew up a Packers fan but ultimately, money talks.
Other player acquisitions that could take place during the New League Year for the Packers will be any player that is cut by another team. The Packers aren’t the only ones releasing players. Other teams have already been doing that. There are some players that Green Bay could get on cheaper veteran deals that wouldn’t effect next year’s compensatory picks.
Regardless of what happens, this is an exciting time of the year, and I for one cannot wait!
But, no matter what happens:
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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