Green Bay Packers are currently over the 2023 salary cap

It sure feels like Groundhog Day in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Aaron Rodgers is thinking about his future while the Green Bay Packers have to fix a salary cap mess before the start of the new league year.

We’ve now had “The Last Dance” twice, both seasons ending in disappointment.

To continue running it back, the Packers have had to push money into future years on the salary cap through contract restructures and extensions.

That’s great in the short term. It frees up cap space to spend on re-signing free agents or adding new players. But it comes at a cost.

Green Bay’s salary cap situation remains a difficult one.

According to Over The Cap, the Packers currently have -$16.28 million ahead of 2023. In other words, they must clear over $16 million in cap space before the start of the new league year.

And that would only put them at $0. To re-sign players or sign any free agents, they would need to free up even more space. That’s before we even factor in the upcoming 2023 draft class.

If the Packers plan to run it back with Aaron Rodgers in 2023, they may attempt to retain key starters. That could mean re-signing veterans like Allen Lazard, Marcedes Lewis, or Randall Cobb.

It all adds up on the salary cap.

Options would include restructuring more deals. Again, great in the short term. But move forward 1-3 years, and it’s a different story.

Maintaining a healthy salary cap is crucial to sustaining success in the NFL. Ted Thompson was a master of this during his time as Packers general manager.

The Packers have taken a risk in recent years by going all-in with Rodgers. Understandable, of course, as they have a four-time MVP at quarterback.

But with more big salary cap questions to answer in 2023, now might be the time to restart and build for the future.