Packers salary cap: Predicting Randall Cobb’s future

Aaron Rodgers wanted Randall Cobb back in 2021 and the Green Bay Packers made it happen.

The question now is will Cobb be back next season? Was this just a one-year reunion between Rodgers and Cobb? As ever, the salary cap situation comes into play.

What are the Packers’ salary cap options should Cobb return, or is he likely gone this offseason?

Note: Salary cap numbers used in this article are according to Over The Cap.

Randall Cobb’s 2022 salary cap hit

Randall Cobb is set to have a salary cap hit of $9.5 million in 2022.

What are the Packers’ options?

Cobb’s cap hit was just $2.69 million this year but this jumps up by almost $7 million next season. The Packers will almost certainly do something to change that.

One possibility is releasing Cobb. This seems to be the most likely scenario. Doing so would create $6.75 million in cap room.

While it’s possible they could work on a short-term extension, this seems unlikely. Cobb turns 32 in August and, while he did help this offense in 2021, his addition wasn’t the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs. Cobb had all of one target with zero receptions in the divisional round.

Prediction

I predict that Cobb will be released this offseason. If Aaron Rodgers isn’t back, this feels like a certainty. If Rodgers is back, maybe he will also want Cobb to stick around, but it would be tough for Green Bay to make this happen given the team’s cap situation.

Maybe the Packers’ lack of depth at wide receiver in 2022 could make the Packers lean towards keeping him and potentially extending his deal but, again, I don’t see this happening.

Cobb will forever be a Packers legend and a fan favorite, but it seems like his return to Green Bay will only be for one season.