Packers rumors: Why Green Bay is unlikely to make NFL Free Agency splash appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Green Bay Packers have in-house free agents, and they must make decisions. That’s before they can dip their toes in the free-agent waters. However, here is why the Packers are unlikely to make an NFL free-agent splash.
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It’s an unfortunate circumstance of contract needs and cap inflexibility, according to acmepackingcompany.com. The Packers have five players among the top 100 free agents: Romeo Doubs, Malik Willis, Quay Walker, Kingsley Enagbare, and Rasheed Walker.
“Now you may not be sad to see the backside of a handful of these players, but the fact is that GM Brian Gutekunst has his work cut out for him,” Zach Rapport wrote. “Compounding that likely roster churn is a severely restricted salary cap outlook, as outlined recently by our own Justis Mosqueda.
“Green Bay ranks 25th in cap flexibility for 2026, and (is) only able to generate roughly $52 million through restructures. That’s a fraction of what other teams should be able to muster in the coming months. Without letting guys walk in free agency and aggressive space creation via cuts or restructures … the Packers simply won’t have room to pursue marquee free agents … ”
Packers bordering on a roster-structure disaster?
Well, that’s maybe a little dramatic. The Packers should be very competitive in 2026 if they remain relatively healthy.
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And then there’s this. Maybe they can pull off a Gutekunst magic act, according to Sports Illustrated.
“There are other levers that general manager Brian Gutekunst can pull if he needs to create cap space to build upon a roster that has reached the playoffs the last three years but went one-and-done the last two,” Bill Huber wrote. “One way is through simple contract restructures. That is done through the waving of a magic wand. A base salary can be cut to the league minimum, with the rest turned into a signing bonus over the remaining life of the contract. The player gets the same amount of money, the team gets the cap space — no negotiation required.”
The Packers can create tens of millions of dollars of cap space through restructuring. And they could use that cash flow to become at least a marginally big player in the 2026 free-agent game. But … other teams can do more.
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