Packers 2018 free agency review: Big signings don’t pay off
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst wasn’t afraid to use free agency last offseason, but his biggest moves didn’t work out.
Free agency comes with risk. Every team knows that. It’s why Ted Thompson very rarely spent big money in free agency while the general manager in Green Bay.
GM Brian Gutekunst made it clear he’d be more willing to use free agency than Thompson, and he proved it by signing tight end Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson last March.
After one season, neither move worked out the way the Packers had hoped.
Let’s be clear, both signings were very different. Graham was the biggest risk with the Packers offering the five-time Pro Bowler a three-year contract worth $30 million.
The Wilkerson move was low-risk and a smart piece of business by Gutekunst. Wilkerson signed a one-year “prove it” type deal for $5 million. Wilkerson could’ve been an important part of Mike Pettine’s defense but he went down with a season-ending injury in Week 3. That’s just bad luck.
The Graham move came with risk, and after one year, it hasn’t paid off.
Graham did finish with a total of 636 receiving yards, second on the team and his most since 2016. But the expectation was that he would play a major role in the red zone. Graham had just two touchdown catches on the season, tied for a career-low.
Graham wasn’t happy with stats, either, admitting that his “numbers suck” in December, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. But it is important to note that Graham was playing with a broken thumb late in the season.
Maybe a new offense will help Graham get on the same page as Aaron Rodgers. He was asked to block far too often in Mike McCarthy’s offense. It’s possible new head coach Matt LaFleur will maximize Graham’s strengths by using him more as a receiver.
Graham’s cap hit will jump up from $5.91 million in 2018 to $12.66 million in 2019, according to Spotrac, so the Packers will need him to become a bigger factor as a receiver, particularly in the red zone.
If Gutekunst decided to move on from Graham this offseason, the Packers would save approximately $5 million on the cap.
But Graham should still be part of the team’s plans in 2019. It hasn’t worked out the way the team hoped when they signed Graham last March, but he still has two years left on his contract and could have a bigger role in LaFleur’s offense next season.
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Wilkerson was unlucky to get injured, while Graham didn’t live up to his contract this season.
Despite that, Gutekunst’s approach to free agency is right. He won’t ruin the Packers’ cap, but he is willing to take a few risks to strengthen the roster.