Packers: 3 steps to cut $71 million off 2021 salary cap

The Green Bay Packers will have to make a number of difficult financial and business decisions this offseason. More so than usual. Thanks to COVID-19, the NFL’s salary cap is projected to fall to $180 million in 2021 which means the Packers (and a number of other NFL teams) will have to get creative with how they both get under the cap and create extra financial flexibility.

The Packers rank 28th in the NFL by being about $28 million over the cap heading into the offseason. Fortunately, they have a number of ways they can save money, although all of them come with a great cost to their football team. I’m not advocating for Green Bay to make all of these moves, by any means, but here are three steps they can take to not only get under the 2021 salary cap, but also create a large portion of cap space to spend on other players if they so desire.

The Green Bay Packers can cut $71 million off their 2021 salary cap number by completing these three steps with their current roster.

Packers cut players: Saves $21.2 million

By cutting Ricky Wagner ($4.25 million), Christian Kirksey ($5.6 million), Preston Smith ($8 million) and Dean Lowry ($3.3 million) Green Bay can save just over $21 million off the jump. They are already thin at defensive line, inside linebacker and outside linebacker, and releasing these three veterans will only make that situation worse. However, it could create extra space for them to add depth in free agency. Wagner might be the most difficult decision, as he played pretty well for Green Bay and they are already going to be thin at offensive tackle until David Bakhtiari returns from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of the season.