Packers 2025 offseason

[OldHeidelberg]

3 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Quite literally in the article you listed: "I think he's open to it," Stenavich said. "The conversations that we've had with him, yeah, he's got a lot of experience there and he was open to it, excited about it. So, ready to go."

Everything I've read, this is more about next year's cap number which is higher than all OL except three LTs.  Of course, nothing from Jenkins himself yet... 

They have one of the easiest first half schedules, but that is going to be a challenging first two games.  I do like that it gets a bit easier so that offense can gel.  The WR usage evolution should be interesting to watch from game 1 to game 17.  Who moves up and who moves down?

A couple other interesting tidbits not discussed much here:

• Jaire posted on Facebook "Back like I never left" and a few other 'positive Packer' posts with pictures (including one with him and MLF).  But nothing in the news media.  And yes, it looks like a legit FB account. 
• Hafley has discussed using more 3-4 fronts this year than last.  I do think our personnel fits that front better. Oliver and Moss fit better as 3-4 OLBs.  Walker and Cooper as MLBs.  LVN and Barryn can shift inside during obvious passing downs. 

 

I would really like to see them extend Jenkins to lock him at center for the next few years but not sure the team wants to do that. It's just that they seem to be building a good oline and I would like to see it kept together longer than this year, just let Walker and Rhyan walk and keep the rest.

I like getting Detroit at home week 1, they may be feeling some pressure after getting bounced in playoffs and would have probably preferred a weakling to get things back on track.  2-0 would set us up nicely. 

For those of us with Gold package it's a love and hate schedule. Great matchups but Thursday and Monday night games sort of stink. Especially when you have a 4 hour drive like me and have to take multiple days off work to attend. Eagles could be valuable ticket though.

 

[HarryDoyle]

Hate the week 5 bye and on the road three of the last four weeks.

[GAME05]

19 hours ago, OldHeidelberg said:

I would really like to see them extend Jenkins to lock him at center for the next few years but not sure the team wants to do that.

I've been presuming the move to C meant he wouldn't be re-signed. I can't figure the Packers would pay a Center what would end up being Guard and fill-in Tackle money, nor would he accept Center money when he could get Guard money elsewhere.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

On 5/15/2025 at 6:58 AM, OldHeidelberg said:

Nope, but we are in Detroit on Thanksgiving. The opening 5 day home stint with Lions and Wash should tell us a lot about the team. 

The first 5 days of the season don't tell you much about anybody. To be honest, seeing the Packers SOS ranking near the top (I've always kinda thought preseason SOS is dumb), they got really lucky with the shakeout of the games. They got a lot of the tougher ones at home, and I'd prefer playing these two really early in the year. 

I don't see a single game on there as unwinnable; for example if they had played @Philly I'd pencil that in as a loss today. I'm sure they'll drop games, but overall things are pretty favorable for them.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

9 minutes ago, GAME05 said:

I've been presuming the move to C meant he wouldn't be re-signed. I can't figure the Packers would pay a Center what would end up being Guard and fill-in Tackle money, nor would he accept Center money when he could get Guard money elsewhere.

Agreed. His contract carries him through 2026. He enters UFA at 32, the age at which the Packers kiss you goodbye. The agent knows this and knows that he won't get paid at 32 by anybody either. Not like he would be today. 

Packers should stand their ground on this. Don't rework anything. He'll get pissed and leave in FA like they want him to anyway.

[CheezWizHed]

45 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

The first 5 days of the season don't tell you much about anybody. To be honest, seeing the Packers SOS ranking near the top (I've always kinda thought preseason SOS is dumb), they got really lucky with the shakeout of the games. They got a lot of the tougher ones at home, and I'd prefer playing these two really early in the year. 

I don't see a single game on there as unwinnable; for example if they had played @Philly I'd pencil that in as a loss today. I'm sure they'll drop games, but overall things are pretty favorable for them.

At least the SOS projections I've seen recently were based on "projected" schedules.  Previously I thought they were based on last year's schedule.  All of it is guessing, but seems like this makes a touch more sense.

This whole year is basically going to come down to what Love does. Can he look like the late 2023 Love?  Or does he plateau at 2024 Love?

42 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Agreed. His contract carries him through 2026. He enters UFA at 32, the age at which the Packers kiss you goodbye. The agent knows this and knows that he won't get paid at 32 by anybody either. Not like he would be today. 

Packers should stand their ground on this. Don't rework anything. He'll get pissed and leave in FA like they want him to anyway.

I think (hope?) that if the news articles are correct and he wants to lower his cap number next year to avoid being an obvious casualty that they would add 1 or 2 years to the contract.  

While guards do get more $$ on average than centers (which is kind of odd when you think about it), if Jenkins can reclaim his pro-bowl form at center instead of the slightly-above-average guard performance of the last couple of years, he can come out ahead anyway.

[JosephC]

I also don't see Jenkins playing in 2026 on his current deal.  He's either getting an extension that lowers the 2026 cap number, or he will be released.  He and his agent likely feel the same way, which is why they are pushing this now.

[Brian]

Pittsburgh Steelers radio host Andrew Fillipponi is reporting that, according to a source, the Steelers have inquired about Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs availability via trade. Doubs would not only be an excellent replacement for Pickens but also has experience playing one season with Aaron Rodgers. 

[JosephC]

7 hours ago, Brian said:

Pittsburgh Steelers radio host Andrew Fillipponi is reporting that, according to a source, the Steelers have inquired about Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs availability via trade. Doubs would not only be an excellent replacement for Pickens but also has experience playing one season with Aaron Rodgers. 

I'd throw them a offer of Doubs for a 5th round pick plus CB-Corey Trice Jr.  Trice was a 7th round pick in 2023, a tall, linear...best fit as a press corner player who was raw coming out of Purdue...so maybe we'd get lucky and catch him right when he is rounding into something.  Has only appeared in 6 games in 2 years so he is still a big unknown, no doubt about that.  He scored an 85 in the Next Gen Athleticism rating, so I already know the Gutekunst likes him.

I also think trading Doubs leaves the Packers one receiver short.  I wouldn't be all that interested in trading him if it wasn't for the past suspension and that peripheral stuff.  But as it is, if I could get a pick and a young guy at a position of need.......... 

[valpocrewsader]

1 hour ago, JosephC said:

I also think trading Doubs leaves the Packers one receiver short.  I wouldn't be all that interested in trading him if it wasn't for the past suspension and that peripheral stuff.

And the multiple concussions. Feels like it's at least 50/50 that the issue rears itself again next season, potentially even cutting his career short. 

[CheezWizHed]

On 5/16/2025 at 11:21 PM, valpocrewsader said:

And the multiple concussions. Feels like it's at least 50/50 that the issue rears itself again next season, potentially even cutting his career short. 

Yes, it is the double concussion - especially with the special helmet - that concerns me most about Doubs.

[JosephC]

Reports from yesterday (The Athletic) are that the Packers just made a restructured deal offer to Alexander.  June 1st is a big date, maybe this will finally be resolved (one way or the other) in the next couple of days.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I do hope Jaire decides to be a trooper and plays. I would just caution anyone celebrating that to remember that he has barely played the last 3 years. His health is a longer shot than him deciding to play.

[GAME05]

I wonder if part of the thought on the restructure is to make him a little more manageable to trade as well as potentially another year on his contract which other teams would like. That even if there's a restructure it doesn't necessarily mean the relationship has changed or there are no longer plans to trade him.

[OldHeidelberg]

Packers to release Jaire today. I think this is a blunder, he will be in Minneapolis soon I am sure.

[adambr2]

What a lousy offseason by Gute. The only thing we really had to hang our hat on was “if we get a healthy Jaire back that is worth more than anything else this offseason” and now we don’t even have that. Not only did you not keep Jaire, you couldn’t even get any compensation for him.

Obviously the games aren’t played on paper, surprising players could break out, etc, but no unbiased Packer can say this looks like a more talented roster than what we went into the 2024 season with. 

Disappointing. I would anticipate us being widely expected to finish in the bottom half of our division again, and I would concur that this is most likely. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't think it's a blunder. Obviously the league knew this was happening. No incentive to trade for him when he will be released and even if traded, would be seeking a contract anyway. Josh Sutton 2.0, just younger. I'd rather they cut ties then bring an unreliable malcontent back to camp. 

Not much of a loss when he barely plays anyway. 

I think this is minimally impactful on 2025. Doesn't change my outlook at all; 3rd place feels about as likely as 1st. Development, the rookie class, and Love's play will determine that. I'm just meh on Jaire. 

 

[sveumrules]

32 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

I would anticipate us being widely expected to finish in the bottom half of our division again, and I would concur that this is most likely. 

Yeah, another third place eleven win season could very well be in the cards.

[OldHeidelberg]

I wonder if Alexander's agent just thought the Packers were bluffing and they would keep him on his current salary. But from the Packers perspective they can't offer him the restructure without the real threat of release. I wonder if Tom gets an extension now, it's hard for me to get my head around the need for the cap space, especially since they booted some of his hit to 2026. I know we have a lot of guys on expiring deals this season but outside of the OT's and maybe Quay none are really must keep. And they seem to be moving on from RWalker. 

[JosephC]

Packers are 46 million under the cap.  It's surprising that Gutekunst did not do more to strengthen the cornerback spot considering this was always the most likely outcome, since it was no secret that Alexander was unwilling to take a paycut and preferred to be released, while the Packers were unwilling to bring him back with his current contract.  They have Nixon, no problem there, Valentine, who did not play well last year, Hobbs who has one "average" season under his belt and three "sub-par/bad" seasons, and a bunch of practice squad players after that.  Pro Football Reference has Bullard as allowing 8.5 yards per attempt and a QB rating of 120.6, he's a safety and not a slot corner.

[LouisEly]

1 hour ago, adambr2 said:

What a lousy offseason by Gute. The only thing we really had to hang our hat on was “if we get a healthy Jaire back that is worth more than anything else this offseason” and now we don’t even have that. Not only did you not keep Jaire, you couldn’t even get any compensation for him.

Obviously the games aren’t played on paper, surprising players could break out, etc, but no unbiased Packer can say this looks like a more talented roster than what we went into the 2024 season with. 

Disappointing. I would anticipate us being widely expected to finish in the bottom half of our division again, and I would concur that this is most likely. 

What does Detroit have to hang their hat on?  Their All-Pro center retired unexpectedly, they lost their starting RG in free agency, and they swapped one CB for another.  They only gave out one free agent contract with a total - not per year, total - value of over $5M.  

Minnesota lost their starting QB and are pinning their hopes on an untested 2nd year QB who many thought was a reach as a top 15 pick.  They gave $19M guaranteed to a 32-year-old DT who played a total of 3 games in 2024 and $23M guaranteed to a 30-year-old DT who played a total of 8 games last season.

Chicago hasn't won a damn thing in the last decade plus.

Just as many question marks in the division.

[adambr2]

38 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Yeah, another third place eleven win season could very well be in the cards.

Statistically, the Packers did indisputably win 11 games last year. 

On the field, there’s a lot of context missing from this statement. The Packers took care of business against pretty much every inferior opponent on the schedule. Every time they were tested against a contender, they failed the test. With numerous opportunities. They didn’t look like an improved team at all from the second half of the 9 win 2023 Packer season.

If you want to put the O/U at 11 wins next year, I’ll definitely take the under.

[LouisEly]

11 minutes ago, OldHeidelberg said:

I wonder if Tom gets an extension now, it's hard for me to get my head around the need for the cap space, especially since they booted some of his hit to 2026.

Jaire's release has a lot to do with wanting to extend a number of their players, namely the 2022 draft class.  They are going to want to allocate as much as they can of those extensions to 2025 via signing bonus prorations and other guaranteed $.

Jaire's cash due has better uses.

[adambr2]

1 minute ago, LouisEly said:

What does Detroit have to hang their hat on?  Their All-Pro center retired unexpectedly, they lost their starting RG in free agency, and they swapped one CB for another.  They only gave out one free agent contract with a total - not per year, total - value of over $5M.  

Minnesota lost their starting QB and are pinning their hopes on an untested 2nd year QB who many thought was a reach as a top 15 pick.  They gave $19M guaranteed to a 32-year-old DT who played a total of 3 games in 2024 and $23M guaranteed to a 30-year-old DT who played a total of 8 games last season.

Chicago hasn't won a damn thing in the last decade plus.

Just as many question marks in the division.

Detroit getting a healthy Hutch back is worth more than any move any North team did this offseason.

Also, I’m not as high on JJ McCarthy as the hype train is, but the Vikings won 14 games with Sam Darnold last year. It’s not like he’s replacing Mahomes.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I think the Vikings are going to finish last.

I think the Lions are the paper favorite, but it just gets difficult to sustain that level of dominance over a long enough time and a drop-off wouldn't shock me. 

I think the Packers and the Bears are closer than people want to think.