Packers 2026 Offseason

[BrewerFan]

23 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

I see that Lloyd went to a specialist to vet out his injury problems - similar to Watkins and Stokes.  That makes me wonder why this isn't "standard procedure" for the team?  Why wait until they continually have injury issues.  I'd assume anyone could benefit from knowing where they have core and leg weaknesses to shore up. 

I've been asking that! It makes no sense. Why wait until after you lose a star to injuries.

Get all your core players in there. It can't be too expensive. I'm sure they're not going to be able to spend as much time working with everyone, but... if you know that one leg being 19% stronger causes Hamstring issues, whatever it is... what could stop them from sending everyone?

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

Packers get one of their 2 big contract extensions needed done. Christian Watson 4 years / 110.5 million per Adam Schefter. Kraft is next...

 

 

 

I think they have two priorities yet in Wyatt and Kraft, but... this was a great first step. Watson had... what, 5.5M left on his deal? So you really have him locked up as long as you want without a real cumbersome cap hit. He'll have ~37M guaranteed total? 

Last years extension coming off the ACL saved us a good chunk of money I think. At least GTD money.

 

[CheezWizHed]

57 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I think they have two priorities yet in Wyatt and Kraft, but... this was a great first step. Watson had... what, 5.5M left on his deal? So you really have him locked up as long as you want without a real cumbersome cap hit. He'll have ~37M guaranteed total? 

Last years extension coming off the ACL saved us a good chunk of money I think. At least GTD money.

 

Watson's last extension was about $13M.  

[LouisEly]

Looks like only $31M guaranteed for Watson in the form of a signing bonus.  

It's an extension, so it goes into effect after next season.  So, the Packers have Watson under contract for a total of 5 years and $116M.

They also have Reed and Golden under contract or team control through 2029, essentially locking up the core of their WR room for four more years.

[BrewerFan]

57 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Watson's last extension was about $13M.  

I thought they gave him an 11M extension and like 6M(a little over 6) and added void year. I don't think his cap number for this year was more than... again, 5.5 maybe a bit more(maybe with workout and roster bonuses, a little higher). But then I guess he would have had a dead cap hit with the void years. So... not sure if that's factored into the extension or not. 

Either way, you have him for 5 years and minimal GTD money left and this is clearly what they had in mind when they extended him last year. If he came back strong, they could sign him to another extension. The void years were 30M so they could sign him within 12 months... otherwise they would have had to wait until the season started. 

[HarryDoyle]

I would've preferred Kraft but I'm not complaining. Hopefully he can stay healthy, or it will look like a bad decision.

[CheezWizHed]

31 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

I would've preferred Kraft but I'm not complaining. Hopefully he can stay healthy, or it will look like a bad decision.

They aren't mutually exclusive... 

1 hour ago, BrewerFan said:

I thought they gave him an 11M extension and like 6M(a little over 6) and added void year. I don't think his cap number for this year was more than... again, 5.5 maybe a bit more(maybe with workout and roster bonuses, a little higher). But then I guess he would have had a dead cap hit with the void years. So... not sure if that's factored into the extension or not. 

Either way, you have him for 5 years and minimal GTD money left and this is clearly what they had in mind when they extended him last year. If he came back strong, they could sign him to another extension. The void years were 30M so they could sign him within 12 months... otherwise they would have had to wait until the season started. 

Maybe I'm missing something?  You, @LouisEly, and some writer out on Acme Packing company are focusing on this $5.5-6M number, but the first extension was $11M base with up to $13M with incentives.  

Did part of the signing bonus get counted last year? 

[LouisEly]

Just now, CheezWizHed said:

Did part of the signing bonus get counted last year? 

Yes.  The $5.5M number is new cash in 2026.  There was a ~$6M signing bonus that was part of the $11M.

[BrewerFan]

1 minute ago, CheezWizHed said:

Maybe I'm missing something?  You, @LouisEly, and some writer out on Acme Packing company are focusing on this $5.5-6M number, but the first extension was $11M base with up to $13M with incentives.  

Did part of the signing bonus get counted last year?

Yes, it was 6.07M Signing bonus and then spread out with the void years, that probably got incorporated into the new deal, just added what he was due this year. But he would have also had dead money after this year with the additional void years. I'd assume that got rolled into the new deal.

 

6 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

They aren't mutually exclusive... 

Nah, I think Kraft is pretty much a lock as well. Though he is also coming back from ACL. They may want to make sure he's all the way back before they give him... 4 years and 75M or whatever it may be. 

[CheezWizHed]

Just now, LouisEly said:

Yes.  The $5.5M number is new cash in 2026.  There was a ~$6M signing bonus that was part of the $11M.

It just "looks" weird to make it look like is so discounted this year by saying the two deals combined is for 5 years $116M.  This year cost us $11M... the cap hit is lower, but he was still paid for it. 

I look at it more as 5 years $121M. That makes it a better apples to apples comparison with other signings. 

[BrewerFan]

On 6/4/2026 at 4:45 PM, CheezWizHed said:

It just "looks" weird to make it look like is so discounted this year by saying the two deals combined is for 5 years $116M.  This year cost us $11M... the cap hit is lower, but he was still paid for it. 

I look at it more as 5 years $121M. That makes it a better apples to apples comparison with other signings. 

I don't think they're making it look any type of way. He had 5.5M left to be paid out to him. 

I think to compare it to other signings, 5/115.5 is the "Apples to Apples" comparison. 

 

You may be assigning too much... importance on people trying to make it "look discounted." I don't think this changes things either way, it's simply what was owed to him yet and what they're agreeing to pay him moving forward. 

"This year" may have cost us 11M, but we paid the majority of it in 2025. 

I also don't think many people are focusing on the 5th years money just as was the case with Love(Which was counted the same way as this one). 

[CheezWizHed]

17 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I think to compare it to other signings, 5/115.5 is the "Apples to Apples" comparison. 

But this was my point.  It is 5 years $121M if you want to compare to other WR signings.  

[BrewerFan]

5 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

But this was my point.  It is 5 years $121M if you want to compare to other WR signings.  

How? How is that comparing it to other WR deals? All people(around the league, Scouts, Players, the NFLPA) cares about is the NEW money, so it's 4/110.5. So really the only "Apples to Apples," is the extension and then the total value of the money remaining. 

They are two separate contracts. We're talking about how much money he has remaining on his deal and how much he had added to that.

He had about ~5.5M remaining. 
From all reports(and the particulars could change) he got a 4/110.5M extension.

That would mean the value of what he has LEFT on his deal... is 5/116. Again, still not the number people are looking at, I just don't get why you think this is an "Apples to Apples," comparison? 

 

I also don't believe people are citing the remaining contract, 5/116 to make the contract "look" any better or worse, it's just simply a fact. That's the remaining obligation the Packers have to him if he plays for 5 years. 
 

For example, Tee Higgins got a 4 year 115M extension. He was a 2nd rd pick like Watson. He was franchised twice prior. So is his deal really a 6 year 161.8M with ~90M GTD because you're adding the value of what he'd already been paid? Of course not.



I'm really not understanding why adding last years signing bonus should be added to this years extension.
The TOTAL amount owed to him, ie, still to be paid is... relevant only insofar as it tells you what he is still owed over the next 5 years and it's primarily Packers fans that care. The rest of the league is probably indifferent.

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

But this was my point.  It is 5 years $121M if you want to compare to other WR signings.  

A shorter response 😉:

It's compared to other deals signed this offseason.  

Almost all deals signed this offseason are going to be for 2026 moving forward, thus why the comp is what is actually paid out for 2026 and on and does not include what was paid for the 2025 season.

[BrewerFan]

33 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

A shorter response 😉:

It's compared to other deals signed this offseason.  

Almost all deals signed this offseason are going to be for 2026 moving forward, thus why the comp is what is actually paid out for 2026 and on and does not include what was paid for the 2025 season.

I... edited it and shortened it as well!

I DID kinda think we'd already mentioned this though!

[CheezWizHed]

If you compare this current extension (4 years, $111M) to other WRs, that makes perfect sense. 

But both of you (and a couple of sports writers) included the full 5 years with only what he is owed this year. Sure, cash flow is important when you are running a business, but it doesn't make sense when comparing the cost of players.  

Quoting 5 years $116M and comparing it to current signings doesn't say much.  It cost the Packers $121M total to employ Watson for 5 years; regardless of whether we paid part of it in 2025

My point is that if you want to compare Watson's cost to other WR, you should use 4/$111M or 5/$121M.   Using 5/$116M doesn't tell the total cost of compensation. 

[JosephC]

Overthecap have posted the numbers, and according to them it is a 4 year, 92 million dollar contract that can be worth the 110+ million if incentives are reached.  Those incentives would be beyond the 2.125 million dollar per year roster bonuses that are routinely built into Packer contracts.

Cap-wise, it's a cheap deal for the Packers in 2026 and 2027 with cap numbers of roughly 10.5 and 11.5 million respectively.  2028 has a low base salary of only 1.5 million, but there is a 13 million dollar roster bonus due on March 13.  So that is a key date.  If Watson has significant injury issues in 2026/2027 and the Packers feel they need to move on, and he becomes a designated post June 1 cut for the Packers prior to 2028, the cap numbers for 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 would end up being roughly 10.5 million, 11.5 million, 7.4 million and 13.6 million (and then whatever unknown incentive that may be reached).

Curently the cap numbers are (without the unknown incentives)

2026 = 10,519,297

2027 = 11,538,415

2028 = 24,538,415

2029 = 29,163,418

2030 = 26,200,000

[JosephC]

I was just speculating on the unknown incentives, and would think that would have to be largely tied to snap count (or snap count percentages).  I had to look at recent Packer history and see what would reasonable numbers be to have snap count percentages tied to incentives for WRs.

Over the last five years, the Packers top WR in snap percentage averaged 74.556 of the offensive snaps played.  I thought that seemed pretty low for what should be the best receiver on the team.  Snap percentage played by #2 = 53.83%, snap percentage played by #3 = 44.546.

The Vikings have Jefferson and Addison, and I am pretty sure every Packer fan who still has at least one functioning brain cell will acknowledge that Jefferson is a better receiver than anyone the Packers have had recently and Addison isn't chopped liver.  Same numbers for the Vikings averaged over the last five years.  Top receiver snap percentage = 90.16, #2 = 74.97, #3 = 61.352.

Granted, when you get down to #3 and #4, those numbers could be influenced by how much an extra tight end gets into the game.  But I thought the difference in snap percentages between the most played WR (90.16 versus 74.556) and the second most played WR (74.97 versus 53.83) were pretty striking.  Just to throw in a couple more numbers, DJ Moore, who didn't have all that great of a year in 2025, played in 84.84 of the Bears offensive snaps.  

For the amount of draft picks Gutekunst has thrown into the wide receiver position, he sure has ended up with alot of decent-but-not-great talent.  Hopefully Watson can finally stay healthy or Golden turns out to be a hit.  To grab some more numbers, DJ Moore, who didn't have all that great of a year in 2025, played in 84.84% of the Bears snaps.  For the 2025 Lions, Jameson Williams = 90.26% and Amon-Ra St. Brown = 85.44%.  

[CheezWizHed]

2 hours ago, JosephC said:

I was just speculating on the unknown incentives, and would think that would have to be largely tied to snap count (or snap count percentages).  I had to look at recent Packer history and see what would reasonable numbers be to have snap count percentages tied to incentives for WRs.

Over the last five years, the Packers top WR in snap percentage averaged 74.556 of the offensive snaps played.  I thought that seemed pretty low for what should be the best receiver on the team.  Snap percentage played by #2 = 53.83%, snap percentage played by #3 = 44.546.

The Vikings have Jefferson and Addison, and I am pretty sure every Packer fan who still has at least one functioning brain cell will acknowledge that Jefferson is a better receiver than anyone the Packers have had recently and Addison isn't chopped liver.  Same numbers for the Vikings averaged over the last five years.  Top receiver snap percentage = 90.16, #2 = 74.97, #3 = 61.352.

Granted, when you get down to #3 and #4, those numbers could be influenced by how much an extra tight end gets into the game.  But I thought the difference in snap percentages between the most played WR (90.16 versus 74.556) and the second most played WR (74.97 versus 53.83) were pretty striking.  Just to throw in a couple more numbers, DJ Moore, who didn't have all that great of a year in 2025, played in 84.84 of the Bears offensive snaps.  

For the amount of draft picks Gutekunst has thrown into the wide receiver position, he sure has ended up with alot of decent-but-not-great talent.  Hopefully Watson can finally stay healthy or Golden turns out to be a hit.  To grab some more numbers, DJ Moore, who didn't have all that great of a year in 2025, played in 84.84% of the Bears snaps.  For the 2025 Lions, Jameson Williams = 90.26% and Amon-Ra St. Brown = 85.44%.  

Looks like they really leaned into an availability laden incentive setup, which makes sense for us.  Also it could easily be a 2 year contract... or a 4 year contract for not much more than Romeo Doubs. Frankly, I think both Reed and Watson were great deals for the Packers. 

[BrewerFan]

16 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Looks like they really leaned into an availability laden incentive setup, which makes sense for us.  Also it could easily be a 2 year contract... or a 4 year contract for not much more than Romeo Doubs. Frankly, I think both Reed and Watson were great deals for the Packers. 

I can't imagine anyone outside of Northwest Indiana(you know, the home of the Bears) would disagree.

Reed I think beats Doubs in the open market, even with what looks to be an incredible WR class next year(makes me wonder if that played some role in these two re-signing now).