The Green Bay Packers don't always make waves in NFL free agency, but when they do, they prefer to make big ones. The Packers were uncharacteristically involved in the opening week, and pretty much everyone is here for it.
General manager Brian Gutekunst knows he has a franchise quarterback. Jordan Love stepped up in a big way this past season, and now the Packers are going to be able to extend him in the near future, which will give them at least a couple of salary cap-friendly years in the early portion of that deal. And therefore, they can spend in free agency a little bit.
As we look at the Packers' moves in the first wave of free agency, which ones make sense and which ones are head-scratchers (if any)?
Let's give some arbitrary grades to the moves and evaluate what looks like it's going to work, at least on paper.
1. Signing Josh Jacobs
Whether there was legitimate interest from the Packers' side of things or not, the rumors about Green Bay having an interest in Jonathan Taylor last year certainly gained some validity with the team's decision to give Josh Jacobs a big-money contract in free agency.
Heading into this offseason for the Packers, the situations of both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon were in question with Jones carrying a huge cap hit and Dillon hitting unrestricted free agency. The Packers got 2022 All-Pro Josh Jacobs for the price of $12 million annually, and the full contract breakdown is four years, $48 million, and $12.5 million in guarantees. This is basically a franchise tag with option years for the Packers, and Jacobs will count just over $5 million on the cap this year.
I don't know if I can love this move more for Green Bay and their context. They didn't really have a running game to lean on most of last year because Aaron Jones wasn't healthy. Josh Jacobs gives them someone they can lean on every single week on all three downs.
Grade: A
2. Signing Xavier McKinney
Although Josh Jacobs may be the biggest name the Green Bay Packers added in free agency, they undoubtedly made their biggest investment so far in safety Xavier McKinney, the former second-round pick of the Giants out of Alabama.
McKinney has blossomed into an excellent player at the NFL level and doesn't even turn 25 years old until August. He's going to hit free agency again before the age of 30, which is probably a dream come true for him. But his first trip to free agency was a fruitful one.
The Packers gave McKinney a four-year deal worth $67 million in total money and $23 million guaranteed. That's a hefty chunk of change and a great deal for McKinney in an overloaded safety market. There was undoubtedly competition for his services, and the Packers sold him on the fit in Green Bay with new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
Green Bay is replacing its top three safeties from last season in terms of snaps played, with Darnell Savage off to the Jaguars, Jonathan Owens off to the Bears, and Rudy Ford still a free agent. McKinney can do anything and everything asked of him at the position and it's clear the Packers felt like he could be an integral piece of their defense moving forward.
This is truly a top-tier type of free-agent signing. The Packers got an ascending player who is not yet 25, they paid market value but they didn't go over the top, and they addressed arguably their biggest overall need.
Grade: A+
3. Re-signing Keisean Nixon
The Green Bay Packers have gotten their money's worth out of defensive back/return specialist Keisean Nixon.
Nixon seemingly stumbled into an All-Pro season as a return specialist in 2022 as a low-budget free-agent signing. His role expanded defensively in 2023 as the Packers had injury issues at cornerback as well as trading Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills.
Nixon played more snaps in 2023 defensively (809) than any of his previous NFL seasons combined. And with two All-Pro seasons as a return man to his name along with a lot of experience playing in the slot, the Packers decided to reward him with his biggest NFL contract to date.
Nixon received a three-year deal from Green Bay with $18 million in total money. When you see contracts being given out to nickel/slot players around the NFL, you can't help but wonder how NFL teams can get away with it at times. Outside corners barely play more snaps these days than slot guys, and slot players are arguably asked to do more.
Yet they get paid less.
There's absolutely zero issue with Nixon getting $6 million average annual value, and frankly, with his combination of contributions as a corner and return man, it's well worth the price for Green Bay. This move isn't going to make national headlines, but it's a good one.
Grade: B
4. Releasing Aaron Jones
If there's one bone I have to pick with GM Brian Gutekunst, it's not allowing us the joy of seeing Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones tear it up together in Green Bay for a season.
Jones has always worked best as a tandem back. Most runners in today's NFL do. But I get it. The Packers aren't paying Josh Jacobs $12 million per year to carry the ball 12 times a game. It just would have been a lot of fun.
Therefore, I can't be too hard on this move, although it's definitely the one I'm most critical of. If you're going all in, just go all in. You know what I'm saying? The Packers will save cap space with this move, but with the depth of the running back market, they weren't even able to trade Jones. And he went to the Vikings, which makes it way worse.
Grade: C-
5. Releasing David Bakhtiari
Even without the emergence of Rasheed Walker this past season, the writing was on the wall for this move. The opportunity to clear $20 million in cap space with the release of Bakhtiari was a no-brainer for the Packers, and there's no guarantee that Bakhtiari is even going to be able to play anywhere.
He has done such a great job in his time with Green Bay, but it was time for everyone to move on.
Grade: A
6. Releasing De'Vondre Campbell
The Green Bay Packers recently made De'Vondre Campbell a salary cap casualty with a post-June 1 designation. That means that after June 1, the Packers will add even more cap space ($10.57 million) and should free themselves up to get that extension done with Jordan Love during the NFL's dead time.
Campbell had an incredible start to his Packers career, earning a big-money contract with the team, and rightfully so. But it's become clear over the last couple of years that the Packers needed to reload at the linebacker position and Campbell just wasn't cutting it anymore.
To be honest, I wasn't sure the Packers were going to do this one just based on the dead money (almost $12 million), but they did the right thing.
Grade: A
7. Re-signing AJ Dillon
You've got to love the fluidity of NFL free agency. Just when it seems like a player is completely gone, a team like the Packers finds a way to pull off the unthinkable.
Okay, it's not that dramatic, but the Packers did find a unique way to bring AJ Dillon back into the fold that you really never see in the NFL. And ultimately, this buys Dillon another year to hit free agency where he might have a better market, and a chance to bounce back after somewhat of a down year a season ago.
In tandem with Josh Jacobs, the Packers have two athletic, physical backs, and this move gives them ultimate NFL Draft flexibility as well.
Grade: B+