Packers: Is Marquez Valdes-Scantling a Contract Extension Candidate?

Watching Marquez Valdes-Scantling during his three-year career with the Green Bay Packers has been a bit like a roller coaster ride–plenty of ups and downs and twists and turns. Last season I even dubbed this the ‘MVS Experience.’

We’ve seen stretches where he looks unstoppable, but also stretches where he disappears for weeks at a time, and of course, some poorly timed dropped passes. Yet what I believe can easily be forgotten about in the midst of these wild swings is that as a former fifth-round pick, Valdes-Scantling has developed into one of the more effective deep ball threats in the NFL.

Last season, MVS posted 690 receiving yards during the regular season and did so on only 33 receptions at a league-best 20.9 yards per catch with six touchdowns. When looking specifically at downfield targets — which, according to PFF, are passes that travel at least 20 yards — Valdes-Scantling was second in yards per catch with 53.4, he tied for fourth in touchdowns with four and was third in YAC per reception with 15.9.

I also have to mention the NFC Championship Game; while many of Green Bay’s top players struggled, MVS might have had the best game of his career in a huge moment. He would go on to catch four of his six targets for 115 yards at 28.8 yards per catch, along with a touchdown. This performance flew under the radar given everything else that took place but was impressive, nonetheless.

With Valdes-Scantling’s speed and big-play ability, there is no one else on this Green Bay Packers team that can do what he does. While the quick passing game and short-area throws are much more prevalent in the Matt LaFleur offense, that often leads to opportunities downfield. To put it simply, MVS plays a key role in this offense.

So with this being the final year of his rookie deal, that begs the question, will the Green Bay Packers extend him before he hits free agency?

While extensions are usually reserved for the stars of the team like David Bakhtiari, Kenny Clark, and potentially Davante Adams or Za’Darius Smith, in 2018, we saw GM Brian Gutekunst extend Lucas Patrick. At the time, it seemed like an inconspicuous move, but it’s one that has certainly paid off.

From a salary cap perspective, MVS received a Proven Performance Bonus for 2021, and he comes with a cap hit of $2.2 million, according to Spotrac, with a $2.183 million base salary. An extension wouldn’t provide a ton of relief, but it would allow the Packers to convert a good portion of that base salary to a signing bonus and prorate the cap charges over the life of the contract.

Saving between $1 million and $2 million on the salary cap doesn’t sound like much, but for a Green Bay Packers squad that is nickel and diming their way to cap space this offseason, it certainly helps.

Another benefit that an extension provides is that it could allow Green Bay to sign MVS below what his market value may end up being. A similar performance in 2021, or if he takes another step forward, could put him out of the Packers’ price range come next offseason—and as we all know, Green Bay will be limited by the salary cap once again.

Basically, I said all of that to say that signing Valdez-Scantling sooner rather than later could — and I stress could — result in more savings for the Packers. Of course, there’s risk involved with this approach if MVS doesn’t take a step forward, or worse, he regresses.

It’s also worth noting that at the moment, the Packers only have one receiver under contract beyond 2021, and that is rookie Amari Rodgers. At some point, they’ll need to add more quality players, and MVS certainly fits that mold with his skill-set, production, and familiarity with the offense.

As I said initially, the issue with MVS has been his overall consistency, and perhaps that’s enough to deter the Packers from offering him an extension this season. Given how the offseason has played out so far, I’m not even going to begin to guess what the Green Bay Packers will do with Valdes-Scantling, but this is a topic that certainly needs to be discussed more.

If MVS is going to receive an extension, I’ll venture to say it takes place in the latter portion of the season, once they have the opportunity to see how this year plays out for him—as I just highlighted there are several reasons why it makes sense.

Prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, Gutey told us that the team had “many contracts” that they would look to address in the coming months. Is Marquez Valdes-Scantling one of them?