5 potential cap casualties for Packers with reduced 2021 salary cap

Five potential cap casualties for the Green Bay Packers if there’s a reduced salary cap in 2021.

Each year, the NFL salary cap increases, allowing for bigger and bigger contracts for star players. But that could change in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The salary cap is set at just over $198 million for the 2020 season, according to Over The Cap, but could drop down to $175 million in 2021, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. How would this impact the Green Bay Packers?

Well, as would be the case for each team in the league, the Packers would struggle to retain all of next year’s free agents, a list that includes All-Pro David Bakhtiari, Kenny Clark, and Aaron Jones. It would also make it equally challenging to sign other free agents, placing a greater emphasis on building through the draft.

It would likely also result in most teams, the Packers included, having to cut players to free up money. And that could lead to some difficult decisions for general manager Brian Gutekunst.

These are unique times, and the pandemic might not just affect this season with no fans in attendance, but the financial impact could go into future years.

Maybe the Packers will ask players to restructure deals. But the reality is Gutekunst and Russ Ball will have some difficult decisions to make next offseason. And that could lead to a number of cap casualties across the league. Here’s a look at five players who could be cap casualties for the Packers following the 2020 season if there is a reduced salary cap.

Note: All salary cap information in this article is according to Over The Cap’s calculator.