GREEN BAY \u2014 The Green Bay Packers\u2019 2025 season had been finished for 25 days before general manager Brian Gutekunst held his year-ending press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
After 3 1\/2 weeks, Gutekunst was still having trouble digesting Green Bay\u2019s 31-27 wild-card loss to Chicago, a game the Packers led 21-3 at halftime before collapsing.<\/p>\n
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Rob Reischel<\/p>\n
“Not well,” Gutekunst said of how he\u2019s dealt with that loss. “But no, I mean … in every season, there\u2019s successes, and there\u2019s failures and there\u2019s disappointments and things like that.<\/p>\n
“I was proud of our team in a lot of areas this year, but, you know, finishing games is certainly something that we\u2019ve got to, you know, concentrate on as we head into 2026. And that was one where I thought, certainly we played very, very well in the first half and had a lot of things in front of us. And when you get in situations like that, you expect to win the game.”<\/p>\n
Green Bay, which entered the season with the fourth-best odds of winning Super Bowl LX, finished the year 9-8-1 and losers of five straight games.<\/p>\n
“We have one goal here, you know, and we never run from it,” Gutekunst said. “We\u2019re here to win championships, and I think this team is capable of that. 2026 will be a different team, but the expectations won\u2019t change. I thought there\u2019s some really good things during the season. There also were some major disappointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gutekunst addressed several topics during a nearly 40-minute gathering with state reporters. Here\u2019s the \u201cGood, Bad and Ugly\u201d from his season wrapup.<\/p>\n
The good<\/p>\n
FREE-AGENT FRENZY?: The Packers are approximately $4.35 million over the salary cap. But Gutekunst indicated Wednesday that he expects the Packers to be aggressive once free agency arrives on March 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel really good again,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cYou know, a lot of that will be dependent on the decisions we make with the roster right now and what we do. But I believe we have all the flexibility to do what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2019, Gutekunst has hit it big in free agency with defensive ends Za\u2019Darius Smith and Preston Smith, safeties Adrian Amos and Xavier McKinney, and running back Josh Jacobs. Gutekunst\u2019s two key signings in free agency last year \u2014 guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs \u2014 both had tremendously disappointing seasons. The Packers could clear a large amount of salary cap space by releasing players such as guard\/center Elgton Jenkins, defensive end Rashan Gary, kicker Brandon McManus and Hobbs.<\/p>\n
Chances are Gutekunst will release several of those players between now and the start of free agency, which would help the Packers position themselves to add a player or two.<\/p>\n
Green Bay needs to be active in free agency, too, after trading away its 2026 and 2027 first-round draft picks for star defensive end Micah Parsons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a bunch of young players, really good players that we would like to keep around here for a while, so we\u2019ll work through that,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cBut I feel good about our flexibility, and, you know, I think the last few years, (executive vice president\/director of football operations Russ Ball) has done such a good job of keeping us at a point where, if opportunities present themselves, we\u2019re never not able to do those things. So I feel really good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
MORE JACOBS: Josh Jacobs has 1,840 career carries, turns 28 next week and battled a knee injury the last two months of 2025. That led some to speculate Jacobs might not be back in Green Bay in 2026.<\/p>\n
Jacobs also counts $14.5 million against the salary cap next season, but Gutekunst indicated he\u2019s not looking to replace the three-time Pro Bowl running back.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh is a warrior,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cReally important part of our football team. Everything that he brings to us on the field, in the locker room, he\u2019s an important part and I think he\u2019s got a lot of good years left.\u201d<\/p>\n
GOLDEN TICKET: Wideout Matthew Golden, the Packers\u2019 firstround draft pick in 2025, played just 43% of the snaps in 2025. And one of the greater mysteries of the season is why Green Bay\u2019s coaches used players like Bo Melton ahead of Golden.<\/p>\n
On Golden\u2019s 23-yard touchdown in the Packers\u2019 playoff loss to Chicago, though, he displayed the speed and elusiveness that led Gutekunst to select him with the 23rd pick in the 2025 draft. Gutekunst believes big things are in store for Golden in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever he got his opportunities, he capitalized on them,\u201d Gutekunst said of Golden. \u201cI thought he did an excellent job. Like all players, when you go through tough times when you\u2019re losing games and maybe you\u2019re not getting as many opportunities as you want, that\u2019s going to be frustrating, but I thought he handled it like a pro and, when his number was called on, he performed. Really excited to see what he can do in Year 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bad<\/p>\n
LINE DANCING: Adapt or die.<\/p>\n
While few people enjoy change, modifying your approach when things aren\u2019t working is vital in every walk of life.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the Packers, it\u2019s time they adjust their thinking with offensive linemen.<\/p>\n
Green Bay loves to draft offensive linemen they believe are versatile, then train them at multiple positions. The result is Green Bay winds up with several players that are mediocre at several spots, but far from special at any of them.<\/p>\n
Green Bay\u2019s offensive line in 2025 might have been its poorest since 2005, when that team lost guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle in free agency and tried replacing them with Scott Wells and Will Whitticker.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time Gutekunst and Green Bay\u2019s coaches assign their linemen to a certain position and leave them alone to flourish there.<\/p>\n
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