Green Bay Packers Re-Sign or Let Go & Prediction: Whitney Mercilus
By Paul Bretl
Why the Green Bay Packers would not re-sign Whitney Mercilus
Although Mercilus was certainly able to make an impact last season, and he provided key depth at an important position, it was a very small sample size. Mercilus saw only 80 total pass rush snaps during the regular season prior to his injury. The much larger sample size is a player who has struggled in recent years.
Mercilus is also coming off an injury that caused him to miss Week 11 through Week 18–although huge credit to him for being able to be available for the Packers playoff game. Not to mention that he is going to be 32-years-old this season.
While edge rusher depth is a big concern, this is a deep edge rusher draft class, so the Packers could look to find a contributor and potentially someone who could step in and play significant snaps right away.
Lastly, I know I mentioned that if Mercilus will sign for a veteran minimum deal, re-signing him is a move I would make, but we don’t know if that type of contract will be enough to land him. All it takes is for one team to offer him a two-year deal or add on a few million more dollars after seeing his play with Green Bay, and Mercilus could very quickly end up outside of the Packers’ price range.