Five Packers starters are slated for free agency after 2020, and cap limitations likely mean these three will sign elsewhere.
The Green Bay Packers found plenty of success in Matt LaFleur’s first season as head coach finishing 13-3 and reaching the NFC Championship after two consecutive losing seasons.
However, after selecting Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Green Bay’s window to compete for a Super Bowl appears to be closing. With multiple key players facing contract years in 2020, Green Bay may see the upcoming season as its best chance to give Aaron Rodgers a second ring.
Blue-chip pieces like Kenny Clark and David Bakhtiari will likely be re-signed, but their deals will take up the majority of the team’s free cap space.
While Brian Gutekunst’s spending spree in the 2018 offseason paid dividends in 2019, the large contracts that Adrian Amos, Preston Smith, and Za’Darius Smith signed all but guaranteed that other starters would be shown the door in the immediate future. As a result, it appears that the 2020 offseason will be one marked by roster turnover.
Injuries or poor play could always complicate matters and allow Green Bay to bring back some contributors on cheap deals, but it appears likely that at least three starters will be on different teams in 2021. Some have already seen their replacements drafted, while others will simply be cap casualties.