Aaron Rodgers is Packers’ last big decision entering free agency
The Green Bay Packers restructured the deals of David Bakhtiari, Adrian Amos, Preston Smith and Billy Turner, re-signed Aaron Jones and will soon extend the contract of Za’Darius Smith. Davante Adams will eventually get a new deal.
The last big decision facing the Packers as free agency approaches? Aaron Rodgers.
More specifically, Rodgers’ contract, and how the Packers want to use it or not use it.
Extending Smith’s deal, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Sunday, will likely create enough cap room to get Jones’ new deal under the salary cap by the start of the new league year on Wednesday. The Packers could create even more space by extending Adams, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2021.
But no contract provides the Packers with more potential buying power in free agency 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 roster bonus of $6.8 million and a base salary of $14.7 million in 2021. Both amounts can be converted into a signing bonus to create cap space, or the Packers could add years and money to the deal to lower his cap hit in 2021.
Do the Packers want to push money forward on Rodgers’ deal and go for it all this year, using the cap space created to chase a key free agent or two? Or will the Packers leave the deal be, knowing Rodgers is owed huge amounts of money in future years, and keep their options open financially at the quarterback position beyond 2021?
Rodgers’ cap hit will already rise to almost $40 million in 2022. Adding more money to the deal – that has three years left – 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 touch Rodgers’ deal. They could be content to sit back and wait for any potential bargains after the first few waves of free agency.
It’s also possible Rodgers’ deal is the team’s trump card. If the team keys in on a big free agent or two, the Packers can quickly create the cap space necessary to get something done by re-working Rodgers’ deal.
A restructuring or extension could give the 2020 NFL MVP the financial commitment past 2021 he desires, an added bonus to tinkering with his deal now. But every dollar pushed into the future also complicates a potential transition to Jordan Love, and the Packers might not be ready to close that door.
Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball have done an admirable job working through the team’s cap issue without gutting the roster. The core of this team remains. Corey Linsley is likely to depart, but he might be the only key player to leave. That’s an incredible outcome for a team that was handcuffed by the cap entering the month.
With much of the work in the rearview mirror, the Packers must decide whether leaving Rodgers’ deal alone or using it to create spending options in free agency is the best plan for 2021 and beyond. It’s a complicated, multi-layered decision. And it’s the biggest one left for the Packers to make.
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Breaking down Packers roster entering free agency
