Three free agents Packers should have signed this offseason

Michael Pierce, DT

It’s surprising the Packers are yet to a defensive lineman this offseason. It only adds to the to-do list in the draft this month. And they had plenty of opportunities to give Kenny Clark some help along the defensive line.

One player they missed out on was former Baltimore Raven, Michael Pierce, who they will now see twice a year with the Minnesota Vikings.

Pierce signed a three-year deal with the Vikings worth $27 million. According to Spotrac, his cap hit in 2020 is an affordable $5.1 million. While this does rise in 2021 and 2022, Spotrac notes the Vikings have a potential out of the contract after one year, making it a low-risk signing.

Pierce is excellent against the run which was the biggest problem area for the Packers defense in 2019, a unit that ranked No. 23 in yards allowed on the ground.

The Packers could still decide to sign a free-agent defensive tackle, and maybe they will wait until after the draft to make a move. But they had more than enough cap room to sign Pierce and he could’ve made a difference in Mike Pettine’s defense, particularly against the run.

If Green Bay doesn’t sign a defensive tackle, it’ll be a question of when, and not if, they draft one.