Packers: Salary cap will be minimum of $180 million in 2021

The Green Bay Packers got some encouraging news with the salary cap for 2021.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the salary cap will be a minimum of $180 million next season, up from $175 million. That’s good news as it means the worst-case scenario of it being even lower is now removed, and there is still the possibility the cap could be higher than that.

This means the Packers will have at least $5 million more to work with than was expected previously.

It’s a small difference, though, as Green Bay will need to make some significant moves to get under the cap. According to Over The Cap, the Packers still need to clear around $20 million just to get back to $0.

The first step was taken last week when the team restructured David Bakhtiari’s deal, a move which created around $8 million in cap room. Expect more of the same in the coming weeks as the team prepares for the new league year, although some of it will be determined when they have the actual salary cap number for 2021.

The higher, the better for the Packers as it will give them a bit more flexibility. Every $1 million higher the cap is, the less moves the team will need to make. That could potentially stop them needing to release a player or restructure more deals than otherwise necessary.

Unfortunately, the wait for the exact salary cap number could still be a little way off. According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, we shouldn’t “expect that official number anytime soon”.

Before then, a move that would make sense would be to offer Davante Adams an extension. It’s a move the Packers will need to make at some point in the next year anyway, so why not do it now and structure it in a way to reduce his cap hit in 2021?