Packers 2025 offseason

[BrewerFan]

On 6/12/2025 at 1:04 PM, Yaz19 said:

Sorry - I am tired of the pile on Bostick crowd when it comes to that NIGHTMARE in 2015.    Morgan Burnett had 30 - 40 yards of open field in front of him and allowed Julius Peppers to make him take knee after intercepting the pass.  There was just over 5 minutes left in the game.  That game NEVER gets to the BS onside kick.   And then the Packers go and hire Burnett as a coach.   I have never forgiven Burnett  for that.   And it seems it is in the blind spot of most Packers fans.

(Oh and the Brewers decided to trade Gallardo during that game.)

I think the Burnett play is pretty regularly brought up, but he...picked the ball off. The Packers were still in complete control of that game and Seattle needed an...onside kick.

It doesn't get to an onside if a dozen other things happen differently either. The Packers inability to gain a yard(actually lost about 6 next 2 plays). Then a shank by Masthay. 

Burnett still had a INT ending a series close to midfield(even if he should have kept running), 2 sacks, 10 tackles, 3 TFL and a FR that game.

I have no problem with the Packers hiring him as a coach. If your defense isn't blocking and they're yelling at you to get down...hell, up 19-7 with 5 minutes left, returning the ball is probably a bigger risk at that point. 

Hawk on the fake FG, Clinton-Dix on the 2-point, the two FG attempts from inside the ~5...and Bostick. Bostick's play was bad. 

 

Burnett was a good player for us for a while. He hardly cost us that game. That was a team-wide choke job culminating in Bosick just not doing his job and Haha losing all control of his body. But there were probably 7-8 plays that if just ONE goes the other way, it cost us the game. 

[BrewerFan]

On 6/10/2025 at 4:17 PM, OldHeidelberg said:

It sounds like he is just a guy they like and are trying to figure out a way to keep him from falling off the roster. I think we tried this with another WR one offseason in the last few years and it didn't amount to much. But who knows, his brother is a starting CB.

That it could even play a decision is a sign of how desperate the Packers are at CB. 

I've run this down before, but the Packers have 2 established CBs and then a guy who was a part time starter last year. 

Nate Hobbs-Great start to his career...in the slot. Moved outside, he was terrible. He had his worse Coverage rating of his career at 61.4(down from 79.4 as a rookie). On top of that, he has played 38 out of 68 games in his NFL career.
Nixon- was ranked 116th and graded out better as a slot after moving outside full time...5-6 weeks into the season.
Carrington Valentine. Started 7 of the 15 games he played-He was good...in limited snaps. 

 

Those are our top 3 CBs followed by 7th rd pick Micah Robinson and a 6th(or 7th) rd pick Kamal Haden who was cut. To be fair...he was cut by KC, a team that plays the same type of style Hafley has said he would like to play and he and MLF said they weren't able to play given the personnel. 

 

The other slot is Javon Bullard. I hope he can improve, but he had a coverage grade that was just brutal last year at ~48% or so. 

 

Just for a point of reference....Eric Stokes ranked #2 on this list last year in terms of coverage grades with a 62.4. He finished the season(last 8 games) much stronger as it was a 55.8 until that point.

 

There's not one particular move that you can really be upset with the Packers for not making. I thought trading up for Mitchell seemed like a great bet, but we'll see how Morgan plays. 
Cooper DeJean played well.
Last year in the 2nd rd, there were a LOT of CBs who were projected to go from top 5 to end of Rd 1 who didn't, seemingly because hey didn't test.

 

But there's no doubt there is a glaring weakness in the Packers secondary and the Packers will once again have to try and rely on forcing turnovers and generating pressure at the right time to help their CBs as well as elite Safety play. 

 

-Also, one last note, Jaire Alexander's father came out and said it was absolutely untrue that he would not take a pay-cut to stay in Green Bay. He did say he wasn't willing to take a pay cut to "damn near zero" to play. 

The Packers also made a bit of a head scratching move. They decided to take the entire cap hit this year rather than spread it out. It's really inconsequential as the money rolls over, but perhaps they just want a clean looking cap next year. Skeptics were saying the Packers didn't want to "make it appear as though they had the 3rd most cap space," which...I don't think they care about(Ken Ingills made that statement). 

 

Jalen Ramsey is really the only difference maker currently on the block, but he seems like a bit of a long shot as he'd likely require an extension for ~30M AAV...and he's 30 years old and still very good, not the type of move the Packers often make for a CB who...is showing signs he's slipping a bit.

[LouisEly]

5 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

That it could even play a decision is a sign of how desperate the Packers are at CB. 

I think this is getting a bit overblown.  The Packers had 3 CBs who were out with injury during that practice, and Melton still had the white offense jersey on, so they could have just been short on bodies.  In fact, MLF said they were just experimenting to see if he can be a two-way player.   He's very athletic, he's on the roster bubble, has played well on special teams, and it's just minicamp.  If this was training camp, then I'd be more inclined to think there was more to it.

Every NFL team is short on depth somewhere.  Teams only get 7 draft picks and have 53 roster spots to cover.  In order to get more than seven picks, they have to lose something (free agents or trade a player away).

 

5 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

The Packers also made a bit of a head scratching move. They decided to take the entire cap hit this year rather than spread it out. It's really inconsequential as the money rolls over, but perhaps they just want a clean looking cap next year.

I think this just aligns with when they expect extensions to be made and how the extensions will be structured.  They may be putting roster bonuses earlier on contracts like they did with Banks, in which case they may need more money next year.

[BrewerFan]

7 hours ago, LouisEly said:

I think this just aligns with when they expect extensions to be made and how the extensions will be structured.  They may be putting roster bonuses earlier on contracts like they did with Banks, in which case they may need more money next year.

Yeah, but it changes literally nothing. Unless you're talking about keeping Jaire, the fact that they chose to have all the money hit the cap this year or half of it hit this year and half it next year, they still have the same number next year. 

 

Say the Packers had 40M in space this year. Jaire was due 20M, but after June 1st, 10M would go on this years cap, 10M on next years Cap.

 

If they just ate 10M for this year, you'd simply roll over the additional 10M next year. So the cap number for 2026 doesn't change. If it was going to be 50M, it's 50M no matter how you do this...at this point.

7 hours ago, LouisEly said:

I think this is getting a bit overblown.  The Packers had 3 CBs who were out with injury during that practice, and Melton still had the white offense jersey on, so they could have just been short on bodies. 

Ok...maybe moving Melton is overblown.

The complete lack of depth at CB is not overblown. 

The last time the Packers have been this thin at CB was 2017 when LaDarius Gunter was their #1 CB. Difference is, if this team losses a couple CBs, it's going to be even worse. 

 

Yeah, every team has areas they'd like to have more depth. Is there a team that's a contender that has this little depth at a position as important as CB? An Eagles, Lions, Vikings, SF, LAR, Washington, even the Cowboys, Bears?

 

I think they can make up for it, but they'll need LVN to take a big-big step this year and continue to follow in Gary's steps, Gary will need to have a good season, Clark, Wyatt, Brooks, Wooden, other young guys to step up. 

And who knows, maybe Haden or someone will surprise. But at this point...it's dangerously thin and kinda ugly. 

 

I think the Pats won a Super Bowl playing Troy Brown at CB...and you know we're going to play a whole lot of zone this year. 

[JosephC]

Packers depth chart at WR is probably shaping up as follows - at least the Packers are probably hoping it shapes up this way-

option 1 = Jayden Reed

option 2 = Matthew Golden

option 3 = Romeo Doubs

option 4 = Dontayvion Hicks

option 5 = Savion Williams

option 6 = Mecole Hardman

option 7 = Malik Heath

Just throw Christian Watson's name out there as he is still part of the team, but won't be playing early in 2025 (if at all).

It's possible the team keeps 7 WRs if they end up being weaker than expected at other positions, but more than likely the number to begin the season is 6 which means the guy at #8 doesn't have much of a shot of making the team.

I think working out Melton at CB has more to do with the depth chart at WR than it does at CB.  There is a path to the 53 through CB, there doesn't appear to be one at WR.

Not to say that the Packers do not have problems at cornerback.  IMO they do, in terms of starters and in terms of depth.  I just hope Gutekunst doesn't have it hammered into his head that Bullard was a second round pick, he needs to be on the field so if it has to be at slot corner than so be it.

Unfortunately, I think the most likely scenario is that the Packers do nothing until late in pre-season, where Gutekunst makes a last minute trade for a cornerback.  Hopefully, it will be a "decent" veteran that can still play, but the team that trades him decides they simply have younger players with upside and decide to go with those guys.  But, more than likely, Gutekunst will trade a late round pick for some athlete that nobody has heard of who has been around for a couple years but really hasn't made much of a impact.  I brought up Steelers CB-Cory Trice Jr. previously...somebody like that. 

[CheezWizHed]

On 6/12/2025 at 1:04 PM, Yaz19 said:

Sorry - I am tired of the pile on Bostick crowd when it comes to that NIGHTMARE in 2015.    Morgan Burnett had 30 - 40 yards of open field in front of him and allowed Julius Peppers to make him take knee after intercepting the pass.  There was just over 5 minutes left in the game.  That game NEVER gets to the BS onside kick.   And then the Packers go and hire Burnett as a coach.   I have never forgiven Burnett  for that.   And it seems it is in the blind spot of most Packers fans.

(Oh and the Brewers decided to trade Gallardo during that game.)

Quite literally, I turned on the game, Seattle kicked an XP and then did the onside kick.  Might've been many other factors to the game, but it was the seminal moment and unfortunately the one I saw. 

 

On 6/12/2025 at 2:51 PM, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I always thought Burnett sucked or was at best mediocre. He was one those bizarre guys that just got to hang around seemingly forever just being meh, while sections of the fan base clamored about how he was some unheralded gem of the defense. He was AJ Hawk in the secondary. I can't think of a single significant play he ever made. 

He was very good for the first couple of years and then never quite got back to that form.  I think after Collins was lost, there was a strong hope he would step into that role.

 

 

[CheezWizHed]

22 hours ago, JosephC said:

Packers depth chart at WR is probably shaping up as follows - at least the Packers are probably hoping it shapes up this way-

option 1 = Jayden Reed

option 2 = Matthew Golden

option 3 = Romeo Doubs

option 4 = Dontayvion Hicks

option 5 = Savion Williams

option 6 = Mecole Hardman

option 7 = Malik Heath

Just throw Christian Watson's name out there as he is still part of the team, but won't be playing early in 2025 (if at all).

It's possible the team keeps 7 WRs if they end up being weaker than expected at other positions, but more than likely the number to begin the season is 6 which means the guy at #8 doesn't have much of a shot of making the team.

I think working out Melton at CB has more to do with the depth chart at WR than it does at CB.  There is a path to the 53 through CB, there doesn't appear to be one at WR.

Not to say that the Packers do not have problems at cornerback.  IMO they do, in terms of starters and in terms of depth.  I just hope Gutekunst doesn't have it hammered into his head that Bullard was a second round pick, he needs to be on the field so if it has to be at slot corner than so be it.

Unfortunately, I think the most likely scenario is that the Packers do nothing until late in pre-season, where Gutekunst makes a last minute trade for a cornerback.  Hopefully, it will be a "decent" veteran that can still play, but the team that trades him decides they simply have younger players with upside and decide to go with those guys.  But, more than likely, Gutekunst will trade a late round pick for some athlete that nobody has heard of who has been around for a couple years but really hasn't made much of a impact.  I brought up Steelers CB-Cory Trice Jr. previously...somebody like that. 

Agreed. CB depth is perhaps my main concern about our roster, but Melton playing CB is more about Melton than our depth.

I'd imagine we might kick the tires on the 1 or 2 guys out in FA if they are willing to be a #4 CB (having a vet for coaching might be nice), but more than likely we will wait until cuts and claim someone or make a late round trade for someone. 

[Strike4]

Jaire is apparently a Raven.

 

I heard one year for six million.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Ouch. It's not apples to apples but I would have paid $15 million for a single year. It hurts seeing somebody else get what could be the contract of the year if he stays on the field. That's not even a gamble at that price, it's a no brainer. 

[HarryDoyle]

So he'll be coming to town week 17 but will probably be on IR by then.

[JosephC]

6 hours ago, Strike4 said:

Jaire is apparently a Raven.

 

I heard one year for six million.

Latest reporting is 4 million salary, 2 million in incentives, 0 dollars guaranteed.

[LouisEly]

13 minutes ago, JosephC said:

Latest reporting is 4 million salary, 2 million in incentives, 0 dollars guaranteed.

When reached for comment, his father said ______________

[BrewerFan]

On 6/15/2025 at 12:34 PM, JosephC said:

Not to say that the Packers do not have problems at cornerback.  IMO they do, in terms of starters and in terms of depth.  I just hope Gutekunst doesn't have it hammered into his head that Bullard was a second round pick, he needs to be on the field so if it has to be at slot corner than so be it.

Unfortunately, I think the most likely scenario is that the Packers do nothing until late in pre-season, where Gutekunst makes a last minute trade for a cornerback.  Hopefully, it will be a "decent" veteran that can still play, but the team that trades him decides they simply have younger players with upside and decide to go with those guys.  But, more than likely, Gutekunst will trade a late round pick for some athlete that nobody has heard of who has been around for a couple years but really hasn't made much of a impact.  I brought up Steelers CB-Cory Trice Jr. previously...somebody like that. 

Kansas City could be an option. They have some very good CBs, they also have to pay a lot of people. They have Watson coming up and took Nohl Williams in Rd3. That could be a nice target. I think he'd be expensive. A 4th maybe. And he's due to be a FA(unless I missed an extension). 

It hurts that Jaire's father said he'd have stayed for 8M. That...really seems like it's a worthwhile risk. 

He took 4GTD and 2 in incentives to play in Baltimore. 

I don't know what they do right now though. Samuel? His health is pretty checkered. Coming back from a shoulder/neck injury? That could vary from career threatening to a pinched nerve and a less invasive procedure(from what I understand). 

I think given what seems to be obvious, that we'll again play a lot of C2 Zone, Douglas is a good option.

 

As for Melton, setting aside the CB depth potential, just dismissing that as it's a total wildcard, I think he slots in higher on the WR depth chart just given his ability on 4 phases of Special teams and how good he is in that regard. 

[BrewerFan]

On 6/16/2025 at 10:56 AM, CheezWizHed said:

He was very good for the first couple of years and then never quite got back to that form.  I think after Collins was lost, there was a strong hope he would step into that role.

I thought he was more similar to Amos. Very reliable, good vs the run. Never the big play guy, but a pretty good, reliable safety. 

[CheezWizHed]

Well Jaire signs with the Ravens for $4M and $2M in incentives.  I wonder what his father thinks about JA working for "nothing" now?

Honestly, I wish JA well - especially since he signed with an AFC team.  But I think this validates the Packer's position also.... and I have my doubt that JA is making any more moey than he would've with the Pack.

[LouisEly]

If the 5th year option price for Quay Walker sounded a little high, that's because the NFL lumps in OLBs/edge rushers with off-ball LBs, artificially inflating the 5th year option cost for off-ball LBs.  Gutey said that's the only reason they didn't accept the 5th year option for Quay, 

 

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2025/06/19/packers-working-on-contract-extensions-for-ol-zach-tom-lb-quay-walker/84272777007/

[JosephC]

Kind of surprised that Walker is being prioritized for a new deal.  It seems like most of what I read about him makes him out to be a pretty average, maybe even below-average player.  Many Packer fans I know have really soured on him, but I can accept that could be an over reaction to some of the really idiotic things he's done on the field.  Even Gutekunst says he's "really, really high" and "bullish" on Walker.  Seems like odd comments for a guy that has been in your starting lineup for the last three years.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

5 minutes ago, JosephC said:

Kind of surprised that Walker is being prioritized for a new deal.  It seems like most of what I read about him makes him out to be a pretty average, maybe even below-average player.  Many Packer fans I know have really soured on him, but I can accept that could be an over reaction to some of the really idiotic things he's done on the field.  Even Gutekunst says he's "really, really high" and "bullish" on Walker.  Seems like odd comments for a guy that has been in your starting lineup for the last three years.

Well, I think he's average, but you have to round out your roster with some average players. If they believe in the power of scheme and think he is still growing, getting him cheap isn't so bad. He's not what you want from #22 overall, but that stops being a relevant thing after Draft Day.

[JosephC]

According to overthecap, Walker met playtime benchmarks and would have had a 14.751 million dollar salary for the 5th option year.  So the Packers must see his worth less than that.  Has there been any speculation regarding what type of deal he might get?  Overthecap has the 10th highest LB contract, in terms of average per year, as Robert Spillane's 3 year, 33 million dollar deal with 62.4% of that guaranteed.  Does it seem likely a new Walker deal would fall in the 3 year, 30 to 33 million dollar range with about 50-60% of that guaranteed?

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, JosephC said:

Kind of surprised that Walker is being prioritized for a new deal.  It seems like most of what I read about him makes him out to be a pretty average, maybe even below-average player.  Many Packer fans I know have really soured on him, but I can accept that could be an over reaction to some of the really idiotic things he's done on the field.  Even Gutekunst says he's "really, really high" and "bullish" on Walker.  Seems like odd comments for a guy that has been in your starting lineup for the last three years.

I don't think that the Packers' brass gives a flying hoot about what fans think about a player.  Walker is a much better fit for Hafley's scheme than the prior scheme, and played a lot better the last 10-12 games of the season once he really started to understand Hafley's scheme.  I believe one of those weeks he was the highest graded LB in the entire league.  He's much better going sideline-to-sideline, in coverage, and blitzing than trying to figure out what gap to cover as an ILB in a 3-4.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think getting healthy Walker AND Cooper on the field at the same time as LBs in this system, where Walker can play more on the outside, is the hope.  I feel like Quay was a square peg in the round hole of a 3-4 MLB and is a much better fit as a rangy 4-3 OLB.

[BrewerFan]

On 6/19/2025 at 8:15 AM, CheezWizHed said:

Well Jaire signs with the Ravens for $4M and $2M in incentives.  I wonder what his father thinks about JA working for "nothing" now?

Honestly, I wish JA well - especially since he signed with an AFC team.  But I think this validates the Packer's position also.... and I have my doubt that JA is making any more moey than he would've with the Pack.

His Fathers position was there was zero guaranteed money in the deal.

He took less to play in Baltimore with a team that will make him look better, elite safety play, a good front...everything, so I'm sure he had offers that were higher("I'm sure"=I believe the reports). 

But if the Packers really wanted him to take a contract with no Guaranteed money? At this point in his career, given all he's done?

 

It's done, but it seems like they were close and each side was very stubborn despite purportedly wanting to make it work. 

 

Guess we monitor Asante Samuel, maybe Rasul (he seems like he wants to sign here). Samuel is the upside play, Douglas is the reliable vet.

Douglas feels like an obvious choice since you KNOW you're going to be playing a lot of cover 2/3 zone again and that's where he's at his best. 

[BrewerFan]

On 6/23/2025 at 8:01 AM, JosephC said:

Kind of surprised that Walker is being prioritized for a new deal.  It seems like most of what I read about him makes him out to be a pretty average, maybe even below-average player.  Many Packer fans I know have really soured on him, but I can accept that could be an over reaction to some of the really idiotic things he's done on the field.  Even Gutekunst says he's "really, really high" and "bullish" on Walker.  Seems like odd comments for a guy that has been in your starting lineup for the last three years.

It has to be a specific plan for him. I think having him, Edge and Simmons on the field on 3rd downs could be a huge advantage. Simmons... warts and all, but he can get in throwing lanes. Cooper is the more obvious blitzer, but Walker is good in this area as well. 

 

On 6/23/2025 at 11:46 AM, LouisEly said:

I don't think that the Packers' brass gives a flying hoot about what fans think about a player.  Walker is a much better fit for Hafley's scheme than the prior scheme, and played a lot better the last 10-12 games of the season once he really started to understand Hafley's scheme.  I believe one of those weeks he was the highest graded LB in the entire league.  He's much better going sideline-to-sideline, in coverage, and blitzing than trying to figure out what gap to cover as an ILB in a 3-4.

I didn't really see a noticeable improvement in Walker last year(I'm not arguing) but we've seen so many flashes from him, it makes a lot of sense they think they can utilize him better in Hafley's system. 

They also seem high on Simmons. This tells me they're plan for their off-ball LBs is to just simplify the game, give them a very specific responsibility and let them go play freely. 

That's just my guess. But you're right, Walker was not a 2-gap LBer. McDuffie is the only guy on this team who was best suited to play in a 3-4. 
 

[Sixtolezcano]

19 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

His Fathers position was there was zero guaranteed money in the deal.

He took less to play in Baltimore with a team that will make him look better, elite safety play, a good front...everything, so I'm sure he had offers that were higher("I'm sure"=I believe the reports). 

But if the Packers really wanted him to take a contract with no Guaranteed money? At this point in his career, given all he's done?

 

It's done, but it seems like they were close and each side was very stubborn despite purportedly wanting to make it work. 

 

Guess we monitor Asante Samuel, maybe Rasul (he seems like he wants to sign here). Samuel is the upside play, Douglas is the reliable vet.

Douglas feels like an obvious choice since you KNOW you're going to be playing a lot of cover 2/3 zone again and that's where he's at his best. 

Last week a reporter asked Douglas if he would be interested in returning to the Packers. His response was, “ No, they have Melton at corner.” Seems like there no chance of him coming back.

[CheezWizHed]

On 6/25/2025 at 11:23 PM, BrewerFan said:

His Fathers position was there was zero guaranteed money in the deal.

A totally unbiased opinion that I'm sure is devoid of any hyperbole... 

It wouldn't surprise me if the reality was closer to the Aaron Jones situation where the Packer's and Viking's deals were ultimately the same amount, with the Viking giving him more guaranteed money.