Packers 2026 Offseason

[CheezWizHed]

17 hours ago, jay87shot said:

McManus was 30th in field goal percentage and add in that puke show of a playoff game and the hate us warranted. Is he the worst kicker, no, but shouldn't we be looking to get a top 10 potential kicker.  Every year there are a couple of kickers that come out of relative nowhere to be at least solid kickers.

I didn't say we shouldn't bring in competition to find a better kicker.  But the thought of just booting a decent kicker and putting us back into the situation where we have to find someone new is just horrifying.  It's almost like we blacked out 2023 and half of 2024... 

[LouisEly]

17 hours ago, jay87shot said:

but shouldn't we be looking to get a top 10 potential kicker

And who would that be?

Either teams aren't going to let those guys hit free agency, or those guys don't want to kick outdoors in northern climates (i.e., Green Bay).  The only reason McManus came here was because other teams wouldn't touch him due to the prior sexual assault allegations.

If they want one, they are going to have to take a flier on a draft pick.  But without the 1st and a lot of depth that needs to be addressed, I don't know if they'll take one.  I like the kicker from Iowa, but I don't know if he'll be an upgrade right away.

[homer]

I feel like you can get a kicker via UDFA/Free Agency easily enough. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

1 hour ago, homer said:

I feel like you can get a kicker via UDFA/Free Agency easily enough. 

didn't they sign a soon to be substitute teacher last fall, who now has the Packers record for longest FG made in their franchise's history?

 

Don't ever use a draft pick on a kicker unless you've got a loaded roster and tons of extra late round picks that would turn into camp cuts if you pick actual football players with all of those picks.

[homer]

 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Gary sucks and it is hysterical watching the Reddit sub celebrate his release after YEARS of listening to it talk itself into this guy being some premier pass rusher. It is as if they never thought he was any good if you were show up today. 

This was obviously going to happen, but my goodness what a mess of first round picks this team has for the most part. It's a total dead horse at this point but I can't believe this brass got extensions. 

I don't remember a time being less excited for the upcoming season. Not that I think they're going to be 4-13 or something, but they are looking every bit the part of a 41-41 NBA team. 

[LouisEly]

22 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Gary sucks

Dude has 46.5 sacks in 7 seasons and had 7.5 last year, but because he didn't have a sack the second half of the season and because he isn't Micah Parsons he sucks.

The Reddit sub isn't what is hysterical.

[OldHeidelberg]

I am surprised by this, he is still considered a solid 2 way edge and while not worth the contract it doesn't seem like a huge overpay. I guess they weren't happy with how he finished but Parsons is coming off ACL and LVN has been a disappointment. It's not like we can tank in 2026 for a top 5 pick.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

11 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Dude has 46.5 sacks in 7 seasons and had 7.5 last year, but because he didn't have a sack the second half of the season and because he isn't Micah Parsons he sucks.

The Reddit sub isn't what is hysterical.

If only sacks from 5 years ago mattered today. Look at last year's sacks. About 5 of them are because someone is running away from Parsons and into Gary's lollygagging arms. He was Houdini once Parsons got hurt, and about 4 weeks before that too. He 100% sucked last season. Historically. 

0 sacks, 0 hurries, 0 TFLs is in his final 10 games. That's incomprehensible and LVN has been another gem. Though admittedly he's a different level of suck completely. 

[LouisEly]

23 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

If only sacks from 5 years ago mattered today.

He made the Pro Bowl in 2024.

But yeah, we should judge a players' entire career based on a half season.

23 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

0 sacks, 0 hurries, 0 TFLs is in his final 10 games.

He finished 18th among all edge rushers in pressures last year with 54,  Must have been one helluva first seven games.

[homer]

LOL I guess his account was hacked? 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

12 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

He made the Pro Bowl in 2024.

But yeah, we should judge a players' entire career based on a half season.

He finished 18th among all edge rushers in pressures last year with 54,  Must have been one helluva first seven games.

The Pro Bowl 😂 😂 😂 

Again - tell me what he did in his last 10 games. Not where he finished ranked after picking up Parsons's scraps. Tell me what he did when Parsons was hurt. When he was the best pass rusher on the field, like he was paid to be, like he was on August 15th before Parsons fell into their lap.  

But who judged his career anyway? He sucks today. Now. That's why this is even a topic. And don't say "cap casualty," because any club is keeping him at his price if he's any good as an edge. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

10 minutes ago, homer said:

LOL I guess his account was hacked? 

I guess we'll see but signing with his height and weight seemed super strange 

[sveumrules]

14 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

He sucks today. Now. That's why this is even a topic. And don't say "cap casualty," because any club is keeping him at his price if he's any good as an edge. 

If someone signs him for less than his current salary, that is pretty much the definition of a cap casualty isn't it?

I'm not saying Gary is any great shakes, just that he is probably a lot closer to cromulence than he is to sucking.

If he truly sucks he'll be out of the NFL.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

2 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

If someone signs him for less than his current salary, that is pretty much the definition of a cap casualty isn't it?

I'm not saying Gary is any great shakes, just that he is probably a lot closer to cromulence than he is to sucking.

If he truly sucks he'll be out of the NFL.

That's a fair take, ok, sure, he doesn't suck as much as LVN but he I couldn't care any less about seeing him elsewhere. 

I would not say that just getting paid less makes him a cap casualty since it is a bit more nuanced than that a lot of these salary numbers are just accounting magic that these teams know they're never going to pay. 

He'll end up somewhere, yeah. But he has sucked butt since signing his big deal, they paid him like a top dozen or so rusher and he ain't it. At best, he was an above average pass rusher. I do hope he is getting cut. At least it would signify this org moving on from a mediocre player instead of just keeping him around forever because he's makes them feel safe. 

[adambr2]

We’ll see what happens with Gary, but after how horrific he was the last 10 games, I’m not optimistic and would be fine with moving on.

The sad thing is he was probably one of the better Brian Gutekunst 1st round picks.

We have a “type.” Raw athletic freaks with “projectables” that didn’t have eye popping numbers in college.

It is probably time for a new type.

[JosephC]

Gary definitely does not suck, but he certainly is not great either.

It's a shame because I still think this guy is a special talent, both from a athletic and strength perspective, who probably still has the overall ability in him to play at a very high level.

If a team gives him a 3 year deal and guarantees him in the area of 25-30 million, it's almost a lock that it will be a very bad deal for them.  And not a very bad deal in year three, but a very bad deal right out of the gate.

But if he gets stuck on a one-year deal and is playing for another contract in 2027, I wouldn't be surprised if he had the best year of his career.  There is always chance that he banked a good portion of his income and really doesn't need/want to play anymore, but if I'm GM'ing another team, I'd bet he'd be pretty good if he got stuck on a one-year deal.  I don't think he's anything like Jaire Alexander was last year...I still think Gary has plenty left in the tank (if he wants to use it).

 

[JosephC]

Probably really safe to say that Gary will be designated as a post-June 1st release.  According to overthecap, this would put the Packers roughly 22 million under the cap, and that includes the upcoming rookie salaries.

[GAME05]

Classy sign-off by him. A pretty decent player paid to be a great player. It's not like you have to be either great or you suck and there's no middle-ground. I don't really understand why there's much debate around him at all.

 

Weren't there a decent number of kickers drafted last year who turned out to be pretty good? Especially considering the length of their careers and that good ones still don't break the bank, using a draft pick on the chance to get a good one still seems like good value. It's not like 5th-7th Round position players have any more chance of making it. And for how much kicking can change a game but a backup-backup LB doesn't, I'd rather take a flyer on drafting one than trying to find the surprise good one from the FA heap.

[homer]

Need to pickup a DT...or two

 

[JosephC]

Franklin sounds like a shorter version of Quay Walker.  Good at stopping the run, god-awful in pass coverage.  Last year Walker was credited with allowing 6.3 yards per target (that's not too bad), 3 touchdowns, 108.3 QB rating against.  Franklin was credited with allowing 7.8 yards per target, 3 touchdowns, 111.5 QB rating against.

I'm off the Pro Football Focus thing, but if you are into that, they ranked Franklin 87th out of 88 qualifying linebackers.

I'm surprised at this move because Franklin will count 7 million against the cap, whereas Wooden's cap number was only at 1.3 million.

[LouisEly]

The market for Walker is projected to be ~$14M/year, so to get his replacement for half of that without having to sign a FA who may negate the comp pick for Walker is one lens to view this.  Wooden wasn't going to start - it was going to be a FA/Pick at 1-tech and Wyatt at 3-tech with Brooks the pass rush specialist.  Wooden was also going to be a FA after the season and Franklin is under contract for 2 years.

Probably an indication that they've already had preliminary discussions with agents for DTs who have already been released (if they've already been released it is not tampering).

(IIRC, I had Franklin to the Packers in the 7th round in my 2018 mock but I can't find it.)

[JosephC]

My off-season plan.  Not a prediction of what the Packers will do, more what I would do in fantasy land.

Cut Elgton Jenkins, Rashan Gary, Nate Hobbs, Zayne Anderson.  Gary and Hobbs are both designated as post-June 1st cuts.  Do not re-sign any of the unrestricted free agents.  Bring back all of the rest of the restricted and exclusive-rights free agents for a look at in next year's training camp.  Jenkins and Gary need no explanation.  Why cut Hobbs?  CB is #1 priority in free agency and it's very likely I'd be taking a cornerback within the first five rounds.  So with Nixon, Valentine, free agent, rookie, plus Bullard who plays nickel and then fringe guys like Hadden, etc, the money that was going to Hobbs can be spent elsewhere.

By my calculations using Overthecap, that gives me $50,384,452 in cap space and that is including the rookie salaries for next year.

So for free agent salary estimates, the only comprehensive listing I could find was Sporttrac and their estimates looked low across the board to me.  So I've added 20% to try and keep it real.

Free agent signings-

NT - DJ Reader - 1 year, 4.7 million

CB - Jaylen Watson - 3 years, 45 million - cap numbers by year - 2026 = 10.667 million, 2027 = 15.667 million, 2028 = 18.667 million - I've looked at the top of the CB market and Watson is my favorite.  I've seen his estimates mostly in 3 years, 42 million to 3 years, 45 million.  I have seen one 3 years, 48 million, and I would do that but it's as high as I would go.

LB - Alex Singleton - 1 year, 5.6 million

G/C - Austin Corbett - 1 year, 3.0 million

TE - Alex Trautman - 1 year, 3.4 million

QB - Jimmy Garappolo - 1 year - 2.8 million - Note the Garappolo deal happens after the draft.  I wouldn't do any QB signing prior to the draft in anticipation that I might take one to pair with Ridder.  If Garappolo signs prior to the draft, then subtract him from this scenario, his 2.8 million could be spent elsewhere or banked.

Draft (ran through nflmockdraftdatabase simulator)-

2-52 - LB - Anthony Hill Jr./Texas - Best player available.  Really was hoping San Diego St cornerback Chris Johnson would make it down that far, but he didn't.  I wouldn't have signed Alex Singleton had I known I'd be taking a linebacker here.  There just wasn't an OLman, DLman or CB worth this pack (and no trade down offers), so I went with Hill who I thought was the best player available.

3-84 - C - Sam Hecht/Kansas State

4-120 - CB - Will Lee III/Texas A$M

5-159 - LT - J.C. Davis/Illinois - Note: Boston College LT Jude Bowry was available here.  I prefer Bowry over Davis, but I don't think there is any chance that Bowry makes it down this far, so I took Davis.

6-201 - OT - Keagen Trost/Missouri

7-235 - DE - Mason Reiger/Wisconsin

7-253 - S - Ahmaad Moses/SMU

7-257 - DT - Cameron Ball/Arkansas

After all of that, I'm left with $20,227,785 in cap space.  So I should have plenty to get through the 2026 season.  I would likely swing through the free agent market one time post-draft to look for back-end running back, tight end or cornerback addition.

Rough depth chart  -

QB = Jordan Love, Jimmy Garappolo (FA), Desmond Ridder

RB = Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd, Emanual Wilson, Chris Brooks

WR = Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams, Bo Melton, Jakobie Keeney-James

TE = Tucker Kraft, Adam Trautman (FA), Luke Musgrave, Josh Whyle

OL =  Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sam Hecht (R), Anthony Belton, Zach Tom, Austin Corbett (FA), J.C. Davis (R), Darian Kennard, Keagen Trost (R), Jacob Monk, Travis Glover, John Williams, Lecitus Smith, Donovan Jennings

DE = Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox Jr,, Collin Oliver, Mason Reagor (R), Arron Mosby

DT = Devonte Wyatt, D.J. Reader (FA), Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson, Cameron Ball (R), Jordon Riley, Nazir Stackhouse, Jonathan Ford

LB = Edgerrin Cooper, Alex Singleton (FA), Anthony Hill Jr. (R), Isaiah McDuffie, Ty'Ron Hopper

CB = Jaylen Watson (FA), Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Will Lee III (R), Kamal Hadden, Jaylin Simpson, Shemar Bartholomew

S = Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, Kitan Oladapo, Ahmaad Moses (R), Johnathan Baldwin

K = Brandon McManus

P = Daniel Whelan

LS = Matt Orzech

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Pretty hard to hate the addition of Franklin when Walker is as good as gone. Solid reliable veteran player. The Packers have a real depth problem on their lines though. 

[adambr2]

Franklin was atrocious in 2025 but a pretty good player before that. Was he playing injured last year?