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Green Bay Packers: Five free agent targets in 2019

By Paul Bretl

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans celebrates after a sack against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter of the game at FedExField on November 18, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. The Texans won 23-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans celebrates after a sack against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter of the game at FedExField on November 18, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. The Texans won 23-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 02: Landon Collins #21 of the New York Giants reacts after being called for pass interference during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium on December 02, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 02: Landon Collins #21 of the New York Giants reacts after being called for pass interference during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at MetLife Stadium on December 02, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The 2018 season exposed a lot of weaknesses in this Green Bay Packers team, but as we turn our focus to 2019, here are five potential free agents that could give this roster a boost.

Heading into GM Brian Gutekunst’s second offseason with the Green Bay Packers, he will have roughly $44 million in cap space to utilize in free agency.

If Green Bay hopes to accelerate this mini-rebuild they will need to be more active in free agency, rather than just relying on the draft as they did during the Ted Thompson era.

There are plenty of free agents available and by no means will they get everyone on this list, but all five should be on Gutenkust’s radar.

1. Landon Collins, Safety

Green Bay has done a nice job at upgrading their secondary at the cornerback position, but Gutekunst still needs to find someone to solidify the backend of the secondary.

Due to injuries, trading Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and cutting Jermaine Whitehead, the Green Bay Packers have struggled to find a reliable player at safety.

Landon Collins is a physical safety that excels in stopping the run and is a very good tackler, limiting the receivers yards after catch. An area that the Packers’ secondary has had issues with.

In 2018, Collins played in 12 games and recorded 96 total tackles, the 11th-most in the NFL, even though he didn’t play in four games. He also added five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and four pass deflections.

Durability shouldn’t be a concern with Collins as this is the first season he has played less than 15 games in a season.

This was Collins final year of his four-year deal with the New York Giants that paid him a total of $6.1 million. In recent years the safety position has been devalued, so this may not be a situation where Green Bay will have to overpay to bring Collins in.

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