{"id":734220,"date":"2026-02-06T20:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/734220\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T20:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:42:21","slug":"brian-gutekunsts-message-is-clear-the-packers-are-running-it-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/734220\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Gutekunst’s Message Is Clear: The Packers Are Running It Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

After reports surfaced that Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had agreed to a contract extension<\/a>, a much-anticipated press conference<\/a> followed.<\/p>\n

What were Gutekunst\u2019s thoughts on how the season ended? How will the Packers navigate contracts<\/a> like Rashan Gary<\/a>\u2018s? Will Brandon McManus<\/a> return after a disastrous performance<\/a> in the playoffs?<\/p>\n

He answered some of those questions, and the overall message was clear: The Packers are running it back.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether you, I, or anyone else agrees with it. That plan seems very apparent.<\/p>\n

At times during the press conference, it sure didn\u2019t feel like a general manager speaking after his team lost five in a row to end the season, including three collapses that culminated in a soul-crushing loss<\/a> to the Chicago Bears. The vibes weren\u2019t those of a general manager frustrated with how things ended.<\/p>\n

Perhaps one of the more surprising revelations involved Rashan Gary, who was expected to step up in the wake of the Micah Parsons<\/a> injury. Instead, after piling up 7.5 sacks early in the season, Gary went the final 10 games without a sack or tackle for loss. Green Bay could save $20 million<\/a> if they release Gary later in the offseason. However, Gutekunst maintained his faith<\/a> in Gary, who looked like a shell of himself for more than half of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

I expect all these guys who are under contract to be back. \u2026 I thought he started out really, really strong. He had a lot of production early. \u2026 I did think toward the end he wasn\u2019t as productive as he was at the beginning. Certainly, that\u2019ll be something I\u2019m sure he looks at personally, and we look at as a team how we can make sure that his production level is the same at the beginning and end of the season.<\/p>\n

The disappointing last 10 games for Gary didn\u2019t look like an outlier, and he seemed more like a player who had lost the pursuit speed that made him his money before his ACL tear<\/a> a couple of years back. Bringing him back with a $28 million cap hit set for 2026 is a move that a dysfunctional organization would make. Maybe Gutekunst was cushioning the blow. If Gary returns, the Packers surely will somewhat alter that contract.<\/p>\n

Gutekunst didn\u2019t seem too concerned about Green Bay\u2019s pretty woeful cornerback group, either. They were a mess down the stretch of the season, and especially after Parsons\u2019 injury. Keisean Nixon<\/a> didn\u2019t live up<\/a> to the billing of a No. 1 cornerback. Nate Hobbs<\/a> couldn\u2019t stay healthy<\/a>, and even when he was, he struggled on the boundary. Carrington Valentine<\/a> was fine<\/a> for stretches of the season, but tackling was a major issue for him.<\/p>\n

Despite all those glaring concerns, and entering an offseason where fans are screaming from the mountaintop to address the position, Gutekunst sounded confident in what the Packers already have. He also made an eyebrow-raising comment about there being no wholesale changes at the position.<\/p>\n

We had some injuries there. Hobbs missed most of the season, never really got going. I thought Carrington (Valentine) stepped in and did a great job, he\u2019s a young player that\u2019s still getting better. Keisean (Nixon) had a very, very good year, he was in the top three in PBUs and did some really good things.<\/p>\n

So, do we need wholesale changes? No. I do think it\u2019s an area though that those guys can get hurt, they\u2019re the smaller guys on the field, we ask a lot of those guys in run support, so depth there for me is important that we have answers.<\/p>\n

Brandon McManus dealt with an injury<\/a> that kept him on the shelf for a couple of weeks and then had a nightmarish playoff game against the Bears. McManus missed two field-goal attempts and an extra point, which played a major role in Green Bay\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n

When asked about McManus, Gutekunst was quick to highlight McManus\u2019s recent kick streak, while noting there will be competition in the offseason. But he noted that the Packers always bring in a second kicker during offseason programs.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have competition at that spot, but not because of anything that happened this past year. I think you always want competition at that spot \u2026 he worked through an injury thing early in the year, which I commend him for fighting through, because it was a little bit more than probably he let on. And once he got through it, he was really, really good until that final game. So he\u2019s a pro\u2019s pro.<\/p>\n

Whether it was McManus, Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, Gary, Aaron Banks<\/a>, or others that many are on the fence about, Gutekunst was steadfast in his belief in the roster currently in place. Of course, it\u2019ll be somewhat different in 2026; there\u2019s always some turnover. As far as major changes, Gutekunst isn\u2019t going to show his hand. Still, it sure didn\u2019t sound like the Packers have many doubts about the current group.<\/p>\n

If the Packers stay moderately healthy next year, who knows? Many of the pieces lost for the season, such as Parsons, Tucker Kraft<\/a>, Devonte Wyatt<\/a>, and Elgton Jenkins<\/a>, were major contributors. Therefore, Gutekunst\u2019s instinct may be correct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After reports surfaced that Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had agreed to a contract extension, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":734221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2072],"tags":[15095,2945,7,41,345,2514,2513,6,428,3996],"class_list":["post-734220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-green-bay-packers","tag-brandon-mcmanus","tag-brian-gutekunst","tag-football","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-greenbay","tag-greenbaypackers","tag-nfl","tag-packers","tag-rashan-gary"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116025632027116393","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=734220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/734221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}