Green Bay Packers: 3 Possible cuts to make in 2020 offseason
The Green Bay Packers have some intriguing possible cuts to make in the 2020 offseason to free up salary cap space to try and improve the roster.
It’s going to be an interesting 2020 offseason for the Green Bay Packers. Just a year ago, general manager Brian Gutekunst and the franchise were aggressive in the offseason, not only breaking the bank to sign Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos in free agency but also moving up in the first round of the NFL Draft to select Darnell Savage. Entering 2020, however, they have a little less freedom for that type of aggression.
Green Bay has just $23.95 million in cap space to operate with in free agency. Furthermore, after making it to the NFC Championship Game, the Packers sit at the No. 30 pick in the draft. Thus, if they want to make another big splash in the 2020 offseason, they may need to free up some wiggle room beneath the salary cap.
The Packers don’t need to be as gung-ho as they were last offseason to make a leap. After all, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Aaron Jones and Matt LaFleur’s club were only one game away from the Super Bowl this past season. But if they do need to free up money to even just re-sign players like Blake Martinez or Bryan Bulaga, we should look at some cut candidates that would make sense for Green Bay. (Note: All figures courtesy of Over the Cap.)
Cap-saving cuts that won’t happen
Before we dive into possible Packers cuts that appear at least somewhat realistic to happen, there are a number of players who, in theory, would save Green Bay money if they were released. However, their value to the team means that they are almost surely going to continue playing their home games at Lambeau Field.
Perhaps the biggest piece of that puzzle is left tackle David Bakhtiari. Green Bay could save $11.5 million against the cap by cutting him with only $3.2 million in dead cap counting against them. But considering that Bakhtiari has been one of the best tackles in the league, letting him loose would be wildly foolish.
Beyond Bakhtiari, the Packers would save $9.275 million by cutting Davante Adams, $7.69 million by cutting Kenny Clark and $8.5 million by cutting Corey Linsley. Given how valuable all those players have been — and the fact that Clark could likely be extended rather than released — they are sticking around.
If there’s one long-shot possible cut, it could be Jamaal Williams. The running back class in the 2020 NFL Draft is exceptionally rich and it’s clear Aaron Jones is the guy. With the possibility to save $2.144 million by cutting Williams, it should at least be mentioned as a possibility.