Packers: 5 players facing key contract years in 2021
The Green Bay Packers had to make a lot of difficult financial situations this offseason in order to largely keep their team intact. However, the number of cuts and restructures they made only pushed more owed money into the future, making 2022 extremely difficult. It also doesn’t help that they have a number of key players entering contract years this season and who will be due significant raises moving forward.
Green Bay has had to be selective in who they keep and which of their own players they let walk in free agency. In recent seasons they’ve seen both Corey Linsley and Bryan Bulaga sign massive contracts with other teams. That’s the nature of the business when you’ve been successful through the draft.
With more difficult decisions on the horizon, these five Packers are entering key contract years in their own right. With just one great season ahead, they could earn themselves a nice chunk of money next offseason. Of course, the opposite could happen as well. Without further ado, here are five Packers entering key contract seasons in 2021.
These five members of the Green Bay Packers have a lot riding on the line in the 2021 season heading into their contract year.
Packers facing key contract year 5: Chandon Sullivan
The Packers’ cornerback room is very thin. It’s basically Jaire Alexander and then a bunch of unproven or inconsistent guys. Chandon Sullivan certainly falls into the latter category.
Sullivan just wrapped up his second season with the Packers and found himself as their slot corner in 2020. That meant a huge increase in snaps–he went from 378 in 2019 all the way up to 822 last year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite ready to handle all the attention from opposing quarterbacks. He was targeted often down the stretch, including in the NFC Championship game when Tom Brady had tremendous success going after him in the slot.
Sullivan signed a one-year, $2.13 million deal this offseason and will have another chance to re-up after this year. There’s a lot riding on the line for him. One strong season and he could sign a multi-year deal with a squad. And another very inconsistent one could see him decrease the salary on his next contract.