The Green Bay Packers have opened a new Super Bowl window, proving they can compete with the NFC's heavyweights. Green Bay held its own against the top two seeds in the conference, eliminating the Dallas Cowboys before falling just short against the San Francisco 49ers.
Green Bay hit a home run last offseason. General manager Brian Gutekunst traded Aaron Rodgers, kick-starting the Jordan Love era. A draft class featuring Lukas Van Ness, Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks, Karl Brooks, and Carrington Valentine can become an all-timer.
But the Packers aren't there yet. They need another solid offseason to fix areas of need and continue to build on a strong foundation. Green Bay enters the offseason with under $5 million in cap space. Increasing that number is a priority before Gutekunst gets to work on the roster.
Here's how he can do it.
Note: All salary cap numbers are according to Spotrac.
5. Release Royce Newman
Cap savings: $1 million
Royce Newman is as good as gone. The Packers have no choice but to move on. After two disappointing seasons, they can't trust him to start along the offensive line.
In 2022, Newman was benched after six games. He started two games this season following an injury to Elgton Jenkins, but the Packers soon had to reshuffle the line after Newman struggled. According to PFF, he allowed nine pressures, seven hurries, and one sack in two starts.
Newman barely played after that. Despite having one year remaining on his contract, the Packers may move on this offseason, a decision that would save a little over $1 million.
4. Release Preston Smith
Cap savings: $2.5 million
Unfortunately, not every decision is straightforward. The Packers must make difficult choices this offseason, and one could be moving on from veteran pass rusher Preston Smith.
Smith started all 17 games, contributing eight sacks and 21 quarterback hits. He provided consistency all year, only failing to register a sack or QB hit in six games. Smith is also a strong run defender.
However, the Packers must think long-term. Smith turns 32 next season. While Green Bay will only create around $2.5 million by releasing Smith this spring, the future impact on the salary cap is more significant. Smith has cap hits above $17.5 million in 2025 and 2026. Moving on this offseason would result in short-term pain—the Packers would pay $14 million in dead cap—but his contract would come off the books in 2025.
First-round pick Lukas Van Ness flashed potential in his rookie season, especially later in the year. The Packers will want to increase his workload moving forward, and releasing Smith is a way to get there. Green Bay could then bolster its pass-rush depth in the draft, building behind its starting combination of Van Ness and Rashan Gary.
Releasing Smith would be a tough decision, but the Packers must consider the long-term financial impact.
3. Release De'Vondre Campbell
Cap savings: $2.6 million
De'Vondre Campbell made a significant impact on defense as a first-team All-Pro in 2021, making 146 tackles, two sacks, six QB hits, five pass defenses, and two interceptions. Per Pro Football Reference, he allowed a passer rating of just 74.9 in his coverage.
Compare that to this season. Campbell played in 11 games but made 75 tackles, no sacks, two QB hits, one pass defense, and no interceptions. He allowed a passer rating of 111.2 in his coverage, a career-worst.
Campbell battled injuries and struggled for consistency. He wasn't helped by the scheme, either. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers regularly had star wide receiver Chris Godwin match up against him, and then-defensive coordinator Joe Barry had no solution.
Campbell has given Green Bay's defense some excellent moments since his arrival in 2021, but he turns 31 in the summer and missed six games this season.
Like Smith's deal, the Packers would make a modest cap saving of $2.6 million in 2024, but importantly, moving on would remove upcoming cap hits of over $12 million in the following two seasons.
Quay Walker is a starter in the middle of the defense, and Isaiah McDuffie has also played well. They could be Green Bay's starting linebackers in 2024.
2. Restructure Aaron Jones' contract
Cap savings: $7.4 million
The Packers could release Aaron Jones, a move that would create a little over $5 million in cap space. But they shouldn't. Jones played the best football of his career to close out the season, putting together five straight 100-yard performances. The San Francisco 49ers hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in their previous 44 games, but that ended when Jones came to town.
Along with Jones's outstanding production, he is a leader in the locker room—a player the Packers' young stars look up to.
"You're the reason I go hard, bro. You're somebody to look up to, bro. You're somebody to play for. I want to go out there and block for you. I feel f----d up when I don't make the block," said Packers receiver Jayden Reed in a moment captured by NFL Films.
Green Bay has to bring Jones back. However, his $17.58 million cap hit is undoubtedly a problem. Jones turns 30 next season and battled injuries this year. The Packers should draft a running back to eventually replace Jones.
In the short term, Green Bay can restructure Jones' deal. According to Packers cap expert Ken Ingalls, a simple restructure would create $7.42 million in cap space. Ideally, the Packers wouldn't restructure any more deals, but they may need to make an exception for Jones.
1. Release or trade David Bakhtiari
Cap savings: $20.9 million
The Packers' biggest cap saving could come from David Bakhtiari's contract. The five-time All-Pro has a cap hit of approximately $40 million in 2024, the final year of his deal. Figuring out a way to lower that number is priority number one for the Packers at the beginning of the new league year.
While it would be incredible to watch Bakhtiari get healthy and return to Green Bay, it just doesn't seem realistic. Of all the possible ways to reduce his cap hit, moving on makes the most sense.
Releasing or trading Bakhtiari would create the same amount of cap space. Green Bay could look for a trade partner—perhaps Aaron Rodgers' New York Jets—to at least bring back some draft capital. But if other teams know the Packers are moving on, regardless, Gutekunst may have no other choice but to release Bakhtiari.
The Packers would still pay a dead cap hit of $19.07 million, but there's no avoiding it. Green Bay will have to take on a significant hit this year, regardless of Bakhtiari's future. But that's a far better scenario than paying more than double that number.
Bakhtiari is a future Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer, but he may have played his final snap in the green and gold.