3 players who the Green Bay Packers will likely cut in 2024

David Bakhtiari

David Bakhtiari's season ended after only one game, continuing his awful injury luck of recent years. Hopefully, Bakhtiari can get healthy between now and September and play a full season in 2024. But there's a good chance it won't be in Green Bay.

Regularly restructuring Bakhtiari's contract pushed money into the final year of his deal, which is 2024. His cap hit next season is a massive $40.58 million, higher than most quarterbacks.

The Packers will pay a considerable cap hit on Bakhtiari's deal; there's no getting around it. However, it doesn't need to be that high. Releasing the five-time All-Pro will still leave Green Bay with a dead cap hit of $19.08 million, but that's a significant saving from over $40 million.

Restructuring isn't an option, as Bakhtiari is entering the final year of his deal. A contract extension just pushes the problem into future years. Perhaps Bakhtiari would consider a pay cut to stay in Green Bay, but his best option could be to hit free agency and join a contender. Maybe he will reunite with Aaron Rodgers by signing with the New York Jets.

Bakhtiari is an all-time great, but the NFL can be a tough business. The Packers can't afford to pay his cap hit of over $40 million. Without many other options to lower it, Green Bay could have no choice but to release Bakhtiari in the offseason.

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