Official Packers Offseason/Free Agency Thread

[ThunderDan]

I'm just saying what LaFleur, Gutekunst, Andrew Brandt, and some others who know what's going on are saying - in several cases with a "how to" of exactly how to do it. And yet, those media pukes repeatedly ask stupid questions in presscons that show how little they comprehend.

You have to really be stupid to think the team isn't pretty confident that Bakhtiari will be play fairly decent, but even without him, we lost 4 out of 17 games and 3 of 16 the year before with him missing a lot of the season. If he couldn't play, we'd be fine without him.

You call it stupid but NO has $11.5M tied up in cap space for Drew Brees in 2022. He hasn't thrown a pass for NO since 2020. That is 5.53% of their 2022 cap space on one player. That is what kicking the can down the road can look like.

The Packers are now doing this over and over. Maybe we get lucky and it doesn't bite us in the ass. The reality is probably will and we are going to have to let a lot of really good players go because we can't afford them.

And no matter what names you call journalists and members here doesn't change what is actually happening.

[Joemailman]

You call it stupid but NO has $11.5M tied up in cap space for Drew Brees in 2022. He hasn't thrown a pass for NO since 2020. That is 5.53% of their 2022 cap space on one player. That is what kicking the can down the road can look like.

The Packers are now doing this over and over. Maybe we get lucky and it doesn't bite us in the ass. The reality is probably will and we are going to have to let a lot of really good players go because we can't afford them.

And no matter what names you call journalists and members here doesn't change what is actually happening.

It won't be as bad for the Packers as it was for the Saints. The reason it was so bad for the Saints was the fact that as the bill was coming due, the salary cap went down sharply due to covid instead of up. As the Packers bill comes due, all forecasts indicate the salary cap going up considerably. So while there will be some sacrifices made, it won't be comparable to the Saints.

[call_me_ishmael]

Even so 11.5M this year for Brees is not that big of a deal IMO. We know we will be rebuilding, so who cares? Sucking for a year or two at the start of a rebuild is preferable vs using that money on a crafty vet anyway IMO.

[ThunderDan]

Even so 11.5M this year for Brees is not that big of a deal IMO. We know we will be rebuilding, so who cares? Sucking for a year or two at the start of a rebuild is preferable vs using that money on a crafty vet anyway IMO.

But you can take unused cap money and push it ahead 1 year. That is now $11.5M NO can't sign players with and wouldn't ever be able to use to push forward if they chose not to sign a player that year to get to the cap.

[ThunderDan]

It won't be as bad for the Packers as it was for the Saints. The reason it was so bad for the Saints was the fact that as the bill was coming due, the salary cap went down sharply due to covid instead of up. As the Packers bill comes due, all forecasts indicate the salary cap going up considerably. So while there will be some sacrifices made, it won't be comparable to the Saints.

That is true. But right now we have already kick 3 cans down the road a little in Clark, Jones and Bak. If we kick the can for ARod and a few others it could get ugly real quick.

I also understand that the cap is going to go up but other teams not in cap hell will be able to offer more for free agents than the Packers will because we don't have as much room under the cap.

We will start to hear the, free agents don't want to play in GB because its cold and a small market team. It was amazing when we opened our wallet up for the Smith brothers and all of sudden FA wanted to be in GB.

[texaspackerbacker]

So the Saints are taking a fairly moderate cap hit several years after Brees retired ...... BFD. Five years or so from now when Rodgers is finally gone, the Packers might have a few bad years too - not because of cap problems, but because of not having our GOAT QB anymore.

As for quality FAs coming to GB or not, that was more of a change of policy from the Ted Thompson years than anything else, a change I welcome, and I suspect a lot of the same people whining about the cap now didn't buy into at the time. Also, of course, having Rodgers - which means always being right at the edge of a championship quality team - also helped attract FAs, a lot more than any cold or small market crap turned them off.

[Upnorth]

Bak in 2023 30 mil. 2025 34 mil.
Clark in 2023 24 mil 2024 25 mil.

That's like 20% of the cap.... We are so fucked.
Clark should still at least provide some value, I am kinda doubting bak will based on the repetative knee fluid retention.
Man. We didn't kick a can down the road, we used a forklift to transport a keg down the road, and it looks like the keg is full of home made beer.

[Joemailman]

Bak in 2023 30 mil. 2025 34 mil.
Clark in 2023 24 mil 2024 25 mil.

That's like 20% of the cap.... We are so fucked.
Clark should still at least provide some value, I am kinda doubting bak will based on the repetative knee fluid retention.
Man. We didn't kick a can down the road, we used a forklift to transport a keg down the road, and it looks like the keg is full of home made beer.

It's estimated though that the salary cap could be as 250M in 2024, so Clark's cap hit would be 10% of the cap, not 20%. The cap could be 270M by 2025, so Bakh's cap hit would be 12.5% of the cap. That's assuming Bakhtiari is on the team with that kind of cap hit, which I doubt.

[Upnorth]

It's estimated though that the salary cap could be as 250M in 2024, so Clark's cap hit would be 10% of the cap, not 20%. The cap could be 270M by 2025, so Bakh's cap hit would be 12.5% of the cap. That's assuming Bakhtiari is on the team with that kind of cap hit, which I doubt.

Bak + Clark = 34 + 25 = 59. 59 is 23.6 % of 250. We are even more fucked than I said

[texaspackerbacker]

True what Joe is saying, but either way, it will be entirely doable to "kick the can" even farther down the road. Clark should be good well beyond '25. Bakhtiari - the sacred cow as I like to call him, likely he will not be damaged goods coming back, and if he's nearly as good people in here think he was/is, he'll be worth the cost.

[call_me_ishmael]

But most teams that were good with an established QB in 2019 are in the same boat. The teams like Buffalo and KC will be in the same boat soon. It’s a non-issue. Crap teams without a QB will not have this issue. Teams with a stud rookie contract QB might be able to take advantage and win one. We shall see what happens. I’m not personally worried about it. Would I rather contend for two years then suck for a year or two, or just suck for a year or two without contending? Obviously the former.

[Joemailman]

MLF mentioned in an interview that he's interested to see what kind of shape Amari Rodgers comes back in. Sounds like may be Packers want him to shed some pounds, or at least lose some fat. He carried 212 pounds on a 5-9 frame, which is a lot for a WR. Would like to see that guy a little sleeker, and a little quicker.

[Fritz]

He did in fact look kinda pudgy. For a guy who had Randall Cobb as a mentor, that's surprising.

He did eat some humble pie this year. I hope he's learned from that.

[ThunderDan]

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[ThunderDan]

Nobody followed up about this, but Rodgers said this is categorically false.

4 years $200 Million. Apparently not categorically false.