Green Bay Packers: Odds of remaining free agents returning

John Kuhn

Packers fans have loved Kuhn for years; something just feels right about hearing the crowd call out his name when he receives a pass or a carry.

He has never seen all that much usage, however. He has gradually dropped from being on the field for about a third of the offense’s snaps to only a quarter of them in the past four years. Even when he’s on the field, he has seen less and less of the ball too; after topping out at 84 carries in 2010, he has 94 in the past five seasons, and he has been in single digit receptions for two years now.

We also must consider that the fullback position as a whole has become less used league-wide, especially for a Packers team that likes to spread out a defense when they have all their pieces available on offense. Even if he was still a top-quality fullback (which he likely isn’t; Pro Football Focus gave him a 66.1 rating — on a 0-100 scale — for the 2015 season), the lack of usage limits just how much impact he actually can have.

Plus, the team already drafted a ready-made replacement last season. Aaron Ripkowski was picked up in the 2015 draft, and though his last season wasn’t anything to write home about (64.1 PFF rating) he should likely be able to provide whatever Kuhn would. Ripkowski also has shown himself as a viable piece of the improving special teams unit; for that group to continue to grow, they would do well to keep the roster stocked with young pieces who will be looked to for contributions in that area.

Kuhn has been a nice piece of the roster for a long time, one of the few players to last on the team despite not only playing for Green Bay, but a major part of this game relies on replacement. Barring an injury to Ripkowski, the time for replacement at the fullback spot is now.

Odds of return: 5%

Next: Mike Neal