Packers: Re-signing Tyler Ervin is a smart decision

The Green Bay Packers are re-signing Tyler Ervin, and it’s a great decision.

Tyler Ervin transformed the Packers‘ struggling return game when he arrived in December, while also showing his potential as a versatile piece in Matt LaFleur’s offense.

Ervin will now be back for another season. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers have re-signed Ervin on a one-year deal. Silverstein added that Ervin will have a cap hit of just $750,000.

That’s good value for a player who can make a big impact for the Packers this year.

Ervin’s importance on special teams is at the top of the list. He averaged a healthy 9.6 yards on punt returns in four regular-season games with the Packers. In that time, he finished with 106 punt return yards. Compare that to every other Packers player combined in punt returns last season, a total of negative-eight yards.

Ervin also led Green Bay with an average of 26.7 yards on kickoff returns while also setting the team’s longest kickoff return of the year, going 45 yards.

But it’s not just Ervin’s special teams value that makes re-signing him a good decision. We saw glimpses of how LaFleur can use him on offense, giving him the ball on end-arounds while also using him in creative play designs to keep defenses guessing.

He only joined the team in December but LaFleur was able to find creative ways to use him. Now with an entire summer, LaFleur will be able to find a more significant role for him.

LaFleur spoke about the need for added depth at running back earlier this offseason, and Ervin can help there too. He can be the team’s third running back behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, making it less of a priority to draft a back next month.

This is another bargain deal for the Packers; Ervin proved last year what a difference he can make. Re-signing Ervin was likely an easy decision for Brian Gutekunst, and it’s a great one.