What will the Green Bay Packers roster look like in 3 seasons?
By Kenny Jilek
Green Bay Packers Quarterback
The quarterback situation is certainly a complicated one and depends largely on three major factors: How well Aaron Rodgers plays in the next two seasons, if Jordan Love can prove himself as a worthy successor to the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback throne, and how insistent the front office is on shedding a large chunk of Rodgers’ salary.
If Rodgers plays at a high level for the next two seasons, then the decision becomes much harder to make. Of course, his trade value would be very high as well, but letting go of a generational talent like Rodgers wouldn’t be viewed fondly by many people.
Jordan Love proving himself is even more subjective than the first issue. This will rely more on what happens behind the scenes in practice, but preseason games will make an impact on the decision.
Finally, trading Rodgers before June 1, 2022 would save the Green Bay Packers $22,648,000 in cap room. However, it would also result in $17,204,000 of dead cap. This is a large factor in how things will shake out two offseasons from now in 2022.
Green Bay Packers Offensive Line
The offensive line is where the most decisions have to be made. Every spot other than left guard could change before 2022. Elgton Jenkins is under contract and was phenomenal in his rookie year, so he’ll be sticking around. David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley have contracts ending this year, Rick Wagner is a one or two-year stop-gap that will likely not be around, and Billy Turner is also a decision that needs to be made.
What would ease some of these decisions would be the emergence of the three rookies they drafted this season. They were all late picks, so hoping for them all to be great would be naive, but the hope is at least one will be a starting-caliber player when called upon. They selected a center in Jake Hanson, a guard in Jon Runyan Jr., and a second guard in Simon Stepaniak.
Bakhtiari and Linsley will surely command big money and with the cap constraints that they have, they will likely not be able to keep both. Bakhtiari needs to be brought back at all costs for multiple reasons. First, he protects an aging Aaron Rodgers and he will keep a young Jordan Love upright for his first few years and make the game easier for him. Also, he is the physical embodiment of Wisconsin and can chug beer like no other.
Unfortunately, this would mean Linsley, who has been a great cog on the offensive line, will be gone after the 2020 season leaving the Packers to either slide Jenkins to center or start Hanson. Billy Turner is under contract through 2022, but has a cap hit over $8 million per year and he did not play up to his contract down the stretch last year and could be cut to save $5,850,000 before 2022 if he doesn’t perform in the next two seasons.
They will likely use a lot of draft capital in the coming seasons on offensive line. Green Bay will need a talented right tackle to protect the quarterback, whoever that ends up being. They will also likely need a guard or a center.
Free agency is also an option. Options at guard include J.R. Sweezy and Zach Fulton; centers could include Ryan Kelly, Austin Reiter, Mike Remmers, Mike Pouncey; and potential tackles are Orlando Brown Jr., Garett Bolles, Taylor Decker, and Cam Robinson. Obviously, some of these options are more expensive than others, but they may choose to spend a lot or a little to bolster the trenches.