The Green Bay Packers have restructured the deals of David Bakhtiari, Adrian Amos, Preston Smith and Billy Turner, have re-signed Aaron Jones and will soon renew Za’Darius Smith’s contract. Davante Adams eventually gets a new deal.
The last big decision the Packers face as the free agency approaches? Aaron Rodgers.
More specifically, Rodgers’ contract, and how the Packers want to use it or not.
Renewing Smith’s deal, like Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Sunday, will likely create enough cap space to get Jones’ new deal below the salary cap by the start of the new league year on Wednesday. The Packers could create even more space by renewing Adams, who will enter the final year of his contract in 2021.
But no contract offers the Packers more potential free-duty purchasing power than the quarterback’s deal.
According to Over the Cap, the Packers could create as much as $ 14-17 million in cap space by restructuring or extending Rodgers’ deal, which includes a $ 6.8 million roster bonus and a base salary of $ 14.7 million by 2021 . converted into a signing bonus to create cap space, or the Packers could add years and money to the deal to lower its cap hit by 2021.
Do the Packers want to push money forward for Rodgers’ deal and go for it all year long, using the space created to chase a key-free agent or two? Or will the Packers leave the deal, knowing Rodgers will owe huge sums in the years to come, and keep their options financially open at the quarterback position after 2021?
Rodgers’ cap hit will already reach nearly $ 40 million by 2022. Adding more money to the deal – which has three years to go – is a risky plan for a team with a lot of money already committed to the cap next year. It’s possible the Packers are comfortable with their current cap situation and don’t want to influence Rodgers’ deal. They might be content to sit back and wait for possible bargains after the first few waves of free agency.
It’s also possible that Rodgers’ deal is the team’s trump card. If the team enlists one or two great free agents, the Packers can quickly create the space needed to get something done by reviewing Rodgers’ deal.
A restructuring or extension could give the 2020 NFL MVP the post-2021 financial commitment he desires, an added bonus for tinkering with his deal now. But every dollar pushed into the future also hampers a potential transition to Jordan Love, and the Packers may not be ready to close that door.
Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball have done an admirable job of getting through the team limits problem without wiping out the squad. The core of this team remains. Corey Linsley will likely leave, but he may be the only main player to leave. That is an incredible outcome for a team that was fascinated by the hat that came in the month.
With a lot of work in the rearview mirror, the Packers have to decide if it’s the best plan for 2021 and beyond to leave Rodgers’ deal alone or use it to create spending opportunities in free agencies. It’s a complicated, multi-tiered decision. And it is the largest the Packers have yet to make.