While the Green Bay Packers don't need to make any final decisions on their upcoming free agents yet, their actions in the coming days could reveal the futures of Keisean Nixon, Darnell Savage, and Yosh Nijman.
According to Packers cap expert Ken Ingalls, Nixon, Savage, and Nijman have void provisions that will trigger on February 19.
In other words, if the Packers don't work out long-term extensions with them before then, their contracts will void, and the remaining money on their deals will hit Green Bay's salary cap in 2024, regardless of where they sign.
Green Bay can avoid this by signing them to new contracts before the deadline. That would allow them to continue spreading out money across the length of the contract rather than it accelerating into this year's cap.
What happens if the Packers don't sign them before February 19 deadline?
The first question you might ask is why? If their contracts are up, why would the Packers pay anything?
Due to Green Bay's recent salary cap challenges, the team added void years to their contracts. That allowed them to create cap space in the short term but pushed money into future years. If they leave in free agency, all of that money will hit the Packers' salary cap immediately.
How much will the Packers pay? According to Over The Cap, here are the dead cap numbers for each player if a new deal isn't agreed by February 19:
- Darnell Savage: $5.46 million
- Yosh Nijman: $2.54 million
- Keisean Nixon: $1.48 million
- Total: $9.48 million
It all adds up. If the Packers don't work out long-term deals with these players before the deadline, they will pay $9.48 million on the 2024 salary cap, even if they sign elsewhere.
Can the Packers sign them after the deadline?
Yes. The Packers can re-sign Nixon, Savage, and Nijman after February 19, and they can't sign with other teams until the new league year in March. But it wouldn't make much sense for Green Bay to do it after the deadline.
It wouldn't change the numbers above. Green Bay would still have to pay those dead cap hits, but the new contracts would be added on top.
The Packers' decision before February 19 will likely give us a good indication of if they will be back. Last year, Adrian Amos, Dean Lowry, Jarran Reed, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Mason Crosby, and Robert Tonyan all had contracts void in February. The Packers didn't re-sign any of them.