Green Bay Packers: Cap Space in 2021 Could be Tight Again

The Green Bay Packers didn’t have much spendable cap space during this 2020 offseason and 2021 could end up being quite similar.

After several years of the Green Bay Packers staying quiet during the NFL’s free agency period under former GM Ted Thompson, the 2019 offseason was really fun. With several key positions needing an overhaul, current GM Brian Gutekunst went out and spent $182 million in contracts to acquire Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, and Billy Turner.

This offseason, however, was pretty lean. But that should have been expected and shortly after the 2019 season ended, Gutey did tell us that it was going to be that way.

So instead of making four splashy free-agent signings, the Green Bay Packers went bargain hunting and signed a few free agents who have had past success in the NFL, but they are either coming off injuries, down seasons, or both.

While it’s not at all realistic to think that every offseason is going to be like 2019, as we look ahead to 2021, in terms of spendable cap space, as of now it appears that it is going to be much closer to 2020 than 2019.

According to Spotrac, they currently have the Packers with $30,649,970 in cap space for the top-51 on the roster next offseason. Initially, that may not seem so bad, but out of the 32 NFL teams, the Packers rank 23rd in 2021 cap space. Not to mention that there are other costs not factored in yet.

This cap figure only takes into account the top-51 contracts, and of course, there are more than 51 players on an NFL roster. The Packers will also need money set aside for the 2021 draft class, the practice squad, and any in-season spending. Although that in-season spending may not seem like much, it turned out to be a big factor in 2019 as Green Bay was able to add Jared Veldheer and Tyler Ervin.

On top of that, the Packers have several key free agents of their own that they have to devote 2021 – and beyond – cap space towards. Kenny Clark and David Bakhtiari need to be re-signed no matter what, and as you’d expect, it isn’t going to be cheap. They’ll also have to consider whether or not they’ll want to bring back Aaron Jones, Kevin King, or Corey Linsley.

And oh yeah, 2021 is also the final season of Davante Adams’ current deal, so I’m sure a potential contract extension for him is on Gutey’s radar as well.

Now having said all of that, it isn’t all doom and gloom as there are ways that the Green Bay Packers can create additional space. One example is Adams’ contract extension. With a cap hit of $16.6 million in 2021, an extension could lessen the cap hit that season as it is spread out over additional years.

Another way is through cuts or trades. Billy Turner is a player to keep your eyes on in this category as he is coming off a sub-par 2019 season and in 2021 his cap hit sits at $8.05 million but his dead cap hit is only at $4.5 million. Thus saving Green Bay over $3.5 million if they were to move on from him.

And of course, whatever is not spent in 2020 will roll over to next season and each year the salary cap has been increasing. Although we still don’t know how that will be affected by what could be an unusual 2020 season ahead.

So yes, there certainly are a few ways for the Green Bay Packers to create more cap space. However, when you put it all together, 2021 could very well be another light spending year in free agency. The Packers have their own free agents to prioritize and they still have some hefty contracts on the books. Meaning that at this point, I wouldn’t be expecting any major additions next offseason.