Green Bay Packers Free Up $3 Million in Cap Space

It was recently reported that the Green Bay Packers have restructured Lane Taylor’s deal to create $3 million in cap space for the 2020 season.

Unlike last offseason, the Green Bay Packers just didn’t have the same spendable cap space this time around. This meant signing some team-friendly deals in free agency, rather than making the flashy signings that we saw in 2019.

Yet even with the relatively inexpensive signings, according to Spotrac, the Green Bay Packers sat at only $10,727,445 in total cap space for their top-51 players. However, as you know, not all of that is spendable.

That amount doesn’t take into account the 52nd or 53rd players on the roster, there is still money needed for the practice squad, as well as potential in-season spending, and not all of the 2020 draft class has been signed yet.

Not to mention that the Packers have five high-profile free agents of their own to tend to in 2021 with once again, not a lot of projected spendable money. So rolling over as much as they can into the next offseason will be crucial.

One name that many have expected Green Bay to cut or trade this offseason in order to free up additional cap space was Lane Taylor. With the signing of Billy Turner and the emergence of Elgton Jenkins, Taylor is slated to be a backup with a cap hit of almost $5.5 million. While he’s proven that he can be an NFL starter, that is a hefty price to pay for a backup guard.

But by moving on from him, Green Bay would save a much needed $4.1 million in cap space for the 2020 season. Which is why so many expected this move to take place.

However, it was just reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, that instead of releasing Taylor, he and the Packers have agreed to restructure his deal for this season.

As Tom reports, this restructuring saves the Packers $3 million in cap space for the 2020 season. Of course, this is a two-way street as Taylor had to agree to the new contract terms, but I’m guessing that the alternative was Green Bay cutting him.

At the moment the Green Bay Packers’ roster is at the 90-man limit so this doesn’t necessarily mean a free agent signing is coming. This simply could have been a move that needed to be made given how tight the Packers are up against the cap. With that said, a few free agent names that still make sense are Jared Veldheer, Tramon Williams, Mike Daniels, and Snacks Harrison.

On top of that, contract extensions for David Bakhtiari, Kenny Clark, or Aaron Jones could be in the works as well.

This restructuring really is a win-win from the Packers’ perspective. They are able to free up $3 million in cap space while also retaining – at least for the time being – Lane Taylor who gives them a viable backup at guard and even tackle, where he has taken some snaps in the past.