The Green Bay Packers have been on a continual decline ever since General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the team is going “all in” following the NFC Championship game a few seasons ago. Of course, Gute also said every decision he makes is looking two-to-three years ahead, which directly discredits the first statement.
Poor decision-making from the power that be (front office, coaching staff, etc.) has the Green Bay Packers facing key free agent departures and little salary cap space entering the 2023 NFL Offseason. Of course, there is a chance Aaron Rodgers returns to cover up the mess just enough to get fans’ hopes up once again before a typical Wisconsin sports-like collapse when it matters most.
Could this be a great offseason? Meh. Could it be an impactful offseason that begins a new era in Titletown? Absolutely, which will be at the very least entertaining. Let’s take a look at the 2023 Green Bay Packers free agents and salary cap space entering the offseason.
Green Bay Packers Free Agents 2023
The following Green Bay Packers free agents were recorded on Feb. 21.
| PLAYER | POS | STATUS |
| Allen Lazard | WR | UFA |
| Randall Cobb | WR | UFA |
| Robert Tonyan | TE | UFA |
| Marcedes Lewis | TE | UFA |
| Yosh Nijman | OT | UFA |
| Adrian Amos | S | UFA |
| Dallin Leavitt | S | UFA |
| Johnathan Ford | S | UFA |
| Keisean Nixon | CB | UFA |
| Dean Lowry | DE | UFA |
| Jarran Reed | DE | UFA |
| Eric Wilson | OLB | UFA |
| Justin Hollins | OLB | UFA |
| Mason Crosby | K | UFA |
| Tyler Davis | TE | RFA |
| Krys Barnes | LB | RFA |
Packers Cap Space Entering the 2023 NFL Offseason
The 2023 Green Bay Packers cap space was taken from OverTheCap on Feb. 21. The total base 2023 NFL salary cap space is $224.8M.
Heading into the 2023 NFL Offseason, the Green Bay Packers’ cap space sits at $4,665,743 over the cap, currently. This ranks in the bottom half of the NFL.
When looking at the Packers’ salary cap, the most frustrating part is seeing the money owed to players that are not on the roster. Adrian Amos is owed nearly $8M while Dean Lowry is owed over $3M. Could they take a discount to re-sign with the Packers because of the money already headed their way? Maybe, but why would they want to return to Lambeau only to compete for a division title instead of an actual Lombardi?
Now, the Packers will easily get under the salary cap one way or another. We have already seen Green Bay extend and restructure the contract of Aaron Jones. The same will be done with David Bakhtiari. If Aaron Rodgers returns to the Packers, he has already said he would move money around to clear up cap space. Currently, he has a $31.6M cap hit, and Rodgers could easily move $9M in signing bonuses to the remaining three years of his contact.
Clearly, there will be tough decisions to be made with the Green Bay Packers’ free agents. Who do you think the Packers should bring back?
