OzPackfan Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) As it currently stands, the Packers are currently looking at having 6m of cap space (249m cap after rollover) once the new year starts. In terms of increasing cap space there are multiple options that all have their pro's and con's. Some of the notable options are: David Bahktiari: Can be cut which would create 21.5m of cap space. Could take a pay cut which would create between 6-12m of cap space. Could take a pay cut and add 2 void years which could create between 10-16m of cap space. Kenny Clark: Could be cut which would create 3.25m of cap space. Could sign a 3yr 69m extension which would create 8.25m of cap space (or more if void years are added) Rashan Gary: Likely restructure of roster bonus which could create 5.75m of cap space. Elgton Jenkins: Restructure of bonus and salary could create 5.7m of cap space. Jaire Alexander: Restructure of bonus and salary could create 11m of cap space. Aaron Jones: Can be cut which would create 4.8m of cap space. Could sign a 2yr 20m extension which could create 6m of cap space (or more if void years are added). Preston Smith: Could be cut which would create 2.5m of cap space. Could be cut with June 1 designation which would create 12.4m of cap space. Restructure of bonus and salary could create 8.35m of cap space. DeVondre Campbell: Could be cut which would create 2.8m of cap space. Could be cut with June 1 designation which would create 10.75m of cap space. Restructure of bonus and salary could create 7.15m of cap space. Royce Newman: Could be cut which would create 1.05m of cap space. I'm keen to get the thoughts as to what everyone thinks are the right moves to make to create cap space knowing that any restructures or post June 1 cuts eat into cap space for 2025 and onwards. Edited January 7 by OzPackfan . 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamSamn Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 here's my take without a lot of detail...all my numbers come from spotrac... i suspect the FO has a decent handle on the correct way to deal with the cap issues Bahktiari is gone- one way or another...they aren't going to carry his salary and he's unlikely to take a pay cut to stay in GB Kenny Clark- signed thru 2024, has cap issues beyond that... he'll turn 30 before the 2025 season, and, while I love Kenny Clark, i think he's stays in GB next year and that's probably it- i think he can play longer, ala Vonnie Holliday, but not for the money he makes now Rashan Gary- maybe a bit of restructure to help get the team thru 2024 Elgton Jenkins- he got his payday and his contract looks designed to remain thru 2024- after that...idk Alexander- I have no idea what is going to happen here...it's hard to see the Packers moving on from him, but I won't be surprised to learn more in the off season...my guess is he pulls a Mike McKenzie and threatens to be a general PITA and asks to be moved Aaron Jones- love just about everything about the guy... except his durability and age. i think he still has some tread on the tires and I'd like to see him brought back (for the right $$-and I don't think the market is strong for his profile), but more of a 3rd down type back and not running between the tackles Preston Smith- 2024 looks like Preston's last year in GB, and that's fine. He's been available and reasonably productive and there's not great advantage to letting him walk. He'll be gone before 2025. DeVondre Campbell- he won't play a snap for GB next year, but he's a 14.4 cap hit or 11.6 dead cap, so maybe he hangs on- can't see adding void years-that turned out to be a pretty bad contract- i already think a healthy McDuffie is an bit of an upgrade Royce Newman- depends on the draft and off season- his situation doesn't matter much, tho i suspect the churning of the end of the roster will leave him on the street. long story short- i don't think the Packers will be looking to create a bunch of cap space for 2024 as they will need another year to get out from under the "can-kicking" they did for the #12 era ...and while this season has been better that many predicted, I don't think the team is going to be considered super bowl ready for another year...i think they will essentially roll with what they have/ where they are. I think the FO would love to begin to clear out some room to build in 2025 . That said, the only guy on this list that's a stone cold lock to be on the 2024 team is Gary, followed by Clark and Jenkins. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWood21 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 David Bakhtiari - Released. Unless he's willing to take a massive paycut, he's gone. And something like minimum salary, and ULTBE incentives based on number of games played or % of snaps played. I LOVE Bakh and his personality, but he's been a total waste of money two of the last three years. Kenny Clark - Extended. I have a hard time seeing him enter 2024 with only 1 year remaining and a $27.5M cap hit. My guess is he'll get 3 or 4 years added, and that will likely be his last contract in Green Bay. I'd venture a guess we're going to see him get his cap number lowered substantially. Rashan Gary - Nothing. I don't really see any reason to restructure his contract. The Packers only save about $5.3M by restructuring him, and a Bakh release likely gets them substantial breathing room. Elgton Jenkins - Nothing. Like Rashan Gary, the savings aren't crazy ($5.3M) to justify pushing money into the future. His cap number in 2025 jumps up to $17.6M so if he's not an elite guard, the Packers could prefer getting out of that deal. Jaire Alexander - Partial Restructure. I'll probably be completely wrong on this one, but I don't see the Packers trading him willingly. I think if someone wants to overpay for him, they'd consider moving him. But only in an overpay. I don't think they'll do a max restructure, but I think it'll be his roster bonus restructured. Aaron Jones - Paycut. Aaron Jones loves GB, and Green Bay loves Aaron Jones. Just not with a $17M cap hit. Maybe he gets another deal, but I think he's going to need a pay cut if he's sticking around. Preston Smith - Nothing. No reason to extend him, or even touch his deal. Rashan Gary has one EDGE position locked, and LVN hopefully is the other one for a while. Enagbare is cheap as a backup EDGE, and I'd imagine they draft one to develop somewhere Day 2 or early Day 3. De'Vondre Campbell - Released. I think this is the "surprise" cut of the offseason. It doesn't save a ton of money ($2.8M), but he clearly isn't the same player he was after he got his big deal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoekd0250 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I really hope we do t lose Jason Vrable to a coordinator job. He’s done great with our Wrs and tes the past few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneTwoSixFive Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) Overall, the team is pretty strong imo, so I don't feel the Packers need to create lots of cap money for free agents. As long as they have some to work with for bargains and one or two mid-tier guys who catch their fancy. What they do need to do is steadily get rid of the void years contracts for a healthier base against the cap. One thing to consider is that there are so many very young players on this team that many of them will have second contracts at about the same time and the Packers need to have a somewhat healthy 'credit card' situation to sign those that should be kept. Love's next contract will be one elephant in the room, however. Bakhtiari - gone. If Walker hadn't improved so fast, I'd be looking to keep him in 2024 and take (another) chance on his knee, but as it stands, that's a lot of cap space. I like David Bakhtiari, but the NFL business can be brutal to older guys. Kenny Clark - Definite keeper. The savings are nowhere near enough to justify cutting a 28 year old who is playing well and has a pretty healthy history for a big guy. Just let him keep rolling, don't touch anything. Rashan Gary The Packers should be trying to remove all the contracts with void years. No need to go creating another one here. Elgton Jenkins His salary takes a jump this year, but nothing so egregious to warrant changing anything. Jaire Alexander His cap number hit is $24-27m each year for the next three years. I think you either keep him for 2024 and make another decision then, or you try and swing a trade this offseason and get a CB high in this draft. The emergence of Valentine and Ballentine helps to give the Packers more choice in what to do, while Eric Stokes is still relatively cheap to roll with for another year, to see if he can stay healthy. Aaron Jones He is a RB who has the age to get banged up. Normally I'd say let him walk and draft another RB fairly high. But, he means so much to how this team rolls, I'd definitely look to keep him at the very least for another year, if not two, while Love gets comfortable as the future QB. Preston Smith Yet another tough decision. The savings are not much and he has been playing very nicely this year. Still, he will be 32 in 2024 and I'd be tempted to let him go and get another OLB in this draft early, to go alongside Gary, VanNess and Enagbare. Devondre Campbell Post June 1 cut. Move McDuffie to starter alongside Quay and draft a guy in rounds 2-4 as an eventual replacement. Royce Newman Yeah, cut. He might be the nicest guy in the world, but he just doesn't seem to be talented enough. Savings are rather irrelevant here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What to look for. Besides the draft, the first targets I'd look in free agency or trade, would be for a RB and a S and they would be the ones I'd be willing to spend the most on, as the draft is poor at both positions this year. If the Packers fail to find anyone at the right skill level vs price point, I'd then identify who I like at each of those positions in the draft and plan ahead to be ready to trade up down or even (shock-horror) reach a bit, to fill those two roster spots. What could go wrong. I don't really know enough about the Packers cap to know If what I have suggested is enough for them to exist reasonably well (cap-wise) through 2024. If it is, then roll with it. Edited January 7 by OneTwoSixFive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire12 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 GB is projected to be $5.8M on the plus side of the salary cap for 2024 per overthecap. that is not enough for rookies and in season buffer, so something needs to happen in cut/restructure/paycut 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: David Bakhtiari - Released. Unless he's willing to take a massive paycut, he's gone. And something like minimum salary, and ULTBE incentives based on number of games played or % of snaps played. I LOVE Bakh and his personality, but he's been a total waste of money two of the last three years. Bakhtiari is the biggest potential cap savings and the most unknown with health and availability. Release or significant paycut which happens is a lot dependent on the medical aspect 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: Kenny Clark - Extended. I have a hard time seeing him enter 2024 with only 1 year remaining and a $27.5M cap hit. My guess is he'll get 3 or 4 years added, and that will likely be his last contract in Green Bay. I'd venture a guess we're going to see him get his cap number lowered substantially. While I can see the idea of extending Clark, I am not sure the process is worth it. yes he is young, but he is also logged a lot of snaps. Just not loving an extension at what would likely be a big AAV on a 29 yo 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: Rashan Gary - Nothing. I don't really see any reason to restructure his contract. The Packers only save about $5.3M by restructuring him, and a Bakh release likely gets them substantial breathing room. yes the cap savings are small, it may allow GB to add or upgrade a tier in FA signing 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: Elgton Jenkins - Nothing. Like Rashan Gary, the savings aren't crazy ($5.3M) to justify pushing money into the future. His cap number in 2025 jumps up to $17.6M so if he's not an elite guard, the Packers could prefer getting out of that deal. same as Gary 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: Jaire Alexander - Partial Restructure. I'll probably be completely wrong on this one, but I don't see the Packers trading him willingly. I think if someone wants to overpay for him, they'd consider moving him. But only in an overpay. I don't think they'll do a max restructure, but I think it'll be his roster bonus restructured. Agreed... assuming Jaire is a long term player in the future plans. might come down to what a new DC is wanting to build around. If GB doesn't touch the contract, a possible trade after 2024 is realistic with a $6.7M cap savings available 7 hours ago, CWood21 said: Aaron Jones - Paycut. Aaron Jones loves GB, and Green Bay loves Aaron Jones. Just not with a $17M cap hit. Maybe he gets another deal, but I think he's going to need a pay cut if he's sticking around. Preston Smith - Nothing. No reason to extend him, or even touch his deal. Rashan Gary has one EDGE position locked, and LVN hopefully is the other one for a while. Enagbare is cheap as a backup EDGE, and I'd imagine they draft one to develop somewhere Day 2 or early Day 3. De'Vondre Campbell - Released. I think this is the "surprise" cut of the offseason. It doesn't save a ton of money ($2.8M), but he clearly isn't the same player he was after he got his big deal. agree on the last 3. Preston might be released even though the cap savings are small, but I feel his performance in 2023 has been worth him sticking in 2024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spilltray Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) What would the trade value on on any of these guys be? For instance I would think.with a little PR suggestion you could get the Jets GM (Aaron Rodgers) salivating over giving up their third (and maybe a conditional future pick) for Bak. Any others? Edited January 7 by spilltray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LacyIsGood Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Does the 6m cap number include the projected cap increase? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 2 hours ago, LacyIsGood said: Does the 6m cap number include the projected cap increase? The 6M is our cap number today. I don't think the official cap number has been released yet, but we are about $20m over for 2024. The draft class is about $16m, and we need roughly $7m to get through the season and about $3m goes toward new contract adjustments (proven performance escalators) (so +6 - 16 - 7 -3 = 20m) . There's a lot more complex way to look at the math, but the round number you'll want to shoot for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 4 hours ago, spilltray said: What would the trade value on on any of these guys be? For instance I would think.with a little PR suggestion you could get the Jets GM (Aaron Rodgers) salivating over giving up their third (and maybe a conditional future pick) for Bak. Any others? No one's trading for Bakh. He's due $21m this year, which is probably top 3 in the league at his position. No one's giving up draft picks for that cap charge, and that doesn't even include the injury risk. The only real trade candidate on this roster is Jaire, unfortunately. The acquiring team would only have to pay him $15m/year for a few years since the packers would be eating the signing bonus. But trading him would actually cost the Packers $3m more than keeping him this year. Everyone else on this roster is pretty fairly priced. You MIGHT be able to flip preston for a conditional late round pick, but that's about it. Everyone else on this roster is "fairly priced" so to speak, so any acquiring team would be better off waiting for us to cut them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 15 hours ago, OzPackfan said: Royce Newman: Could be cut which would create 1.05m of cap space. FYI Newman has earn a proven performance escalator based on the number of snaps he's played in his first three season. He's due an additional $2m cap charge next year ( but this charge hasn't been added yet, so technically your $1m number is correct for now), so cutting him frees up $3m. To your point, Newman is probably an easy cut just for this reason alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 15 hours ago, OzPackfan said: As it currently stands, the Packers are currently looking at having 6m of cap space (249m cap after rollover) once the new year starts. In terms of increasing cap space there are multiple options that all have their pro's and con's. Some of the notable options are: David Bahktiari: Can be cut which would create 21.5m of cap space. Could take a pay cut which would create between 6-12m of cap space. Could take a pay cut and add 2 void years which could create between 10-16m of cap space. The most straighforward Bakh move would be to play for the $1m vet minimum and his $10m roster bonus, which would save the packers $10m in cap space. I'd have a real hard time seeing any other team pay him more than this, and it could be a win-win. At the same time, it's a hard question: Is Walker $10m worse than Bakh? This team will need to free up a lot of cap space, and cutting Bakh, as painful as it might be, frees up all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 6 hours ago, OneTwoSixFive said: Overall, the team is pretty strong imo, so I don't feel the Packers need to create lots of cap money for free agents. As long as they have some to work with for bargains and one or two mid-tier guys who catch their fancy. What they do need to do is steadily get rid of the void years contracts for a healthier base against the cap. One thing to consider is that there are so many very young players on this team that many of them will have second contracts at about the same time and the Packers need to have a somewhat healthy 'credit card' situation to sign those that should be kept. Love's next contract will be one elephant in the room, however. Bakhtiari - gone. If Walker hadn't improved so fast, I'd be looking to keep him in 2024 and take (another) chance on his knee, but as it stands, that's a lot of cap space. I like David Bakhtiari, but the NFL business can be brutal to older guys. Kenny Clark - Definite keeper. The savings are nowhere near enough to justify cutting a 28 year old who is playing well and has a pretty healthy history for a big guy. Just let him keep rolling, don't touch anything. Rashan Gary The Packers should be trying to remove all the contracts with void years. No need to go creating another one here. Elgton Jenkins His salary takes a jump this year, but nothing so egregious to warrant changing anything. Jaire Alexander His cap number hit is $24-27m each year for the next three years. I think you either keep him for 2024 and make another decision then, or you try and swing a trade this offseason and get a CB high in this draft. The emergence of Valentine and Ballentine helps to give the Packers more choice in what to do, while Eric Stokes is still relatively cheap to roll with for another year, to see if he can stay healthy. Aaron Jones He is a RB who has the age to get banged up. Normally I'd say let him walk and draft another RB fairly high. But, he means so much to how this team rolls, I'd definitely look to keep him at the very least for another year, if not two, while Love gets comfortable as the future QB. Preston Smith Yet another tough decision. The savings are not much and he has been playing very nicely this year. Still, he will be 32 in 2024 and I'd be tempted to let him go and get another OLB in this draft early, to go alongside Gary, VanNess and Enagbare. Devondre Campbell Post June 1 cut. Move McDuffie to starter alongside Quay and draft a guy in rounds 2-4 as an eventual replacement. Royce Newman Yeah, cut. He might be the nicest guy in the world, but he just doesn't seem to be talented enough. Savings are rather irrelevant here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What to look for. Besides the draft, the first targets I'd look in free agency or trade, would be for a RB and a S and they would be the ones I'd be willing to spend the most on, as the draft is poor at both positions this year. If the Packers fail to find anyone at the right skill level vs price point, I'd then identify who I like at each of those positions in the draft and plan ahead to be ready to trade up down or even (shock-horror) reach a bit, to fill those two roster spots. What could go wrong. I don't really know enough about the Packers cap to know If what I have suggested is enough for them to exist reasonably well (cap-wise) through 2024. If it is, then roll with it. Regarding your RB thoughts. If you Jones takes a $5m paycut like he did last offseason, would you keep him? If Dillon is willing to play for $5m a year, do you resign him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneTwoSixFive Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 4 hours ago, pgwingman said: Regarding your RB thoughts. If you Jones takes a $5m paycut like he did last offseason, would you keep him? If Dillon is willing to play for $5m a year, do you resign him? I'd keep him as he is so important to this offense at the moment...................but as I said I don't have to manage the cap. It's not impossible Jones is lost to us to pay for Love......... and that would hurt. Edited January 8 by OneTwoSixFive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgwingman Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 39 minutes ago, OneTwoSixFive said: I'd keep him as he is so important to this offense at the moment...................but as I said I don't have to manage the cap. It's not impossible Jones is lost to us tp pay for Love......... at that would hurt. Well I doubt anything like that would happen. Here's how I think it would go down: Let's say love is given a new deal this offseason, I think we'd just extend him, and keep the first year of his new deal (2024) at his $7M cap hit and add the new money to 2025 and beyond. Jones, in my view, is done after this year or next. My preference would be to get him to take a pay cut and hang with us next year. My original question was about keeping both Dillon and Jones. Dillon isn't a world beater, but he's still young and probably fairly cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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