Predicting the 12 Moves that get Green Bay Packers Under the Salary Cap
By Paul Bretl
Other moves the Green Bay Packers could make
If you don’t have a calculator, the total amount of cap space saved totals $93.29 million–and it didn’t require the Green Bay Packers to gut the roster either. They also have enough cap space created for all the additional expenses referenced at the beginning, along with making some free-agent additions as well.
However, if the Green Bay Packers do need to make a few more cap-saving moves, they can look to the contracts of Billy Turner and Marcedes Lewis, both of whom are in the final year of their current deals.
Billy Turner
Out of all the players listed, predicting what the team does with Billy Turner is the most difficult because I could see any option realistically being on the table. His 2022 cap hit is $9.16 million, which based on the moves already made, the Packers could potentially let him play out his current deal if they don’t want to extend him or restructure his contract with voided years and push even more cap charges to future years.
But if Green Bay does need to go either one of those routes, Over the Cap projects that they can save $3.7 million with an extension, $3.5 million with a restructure, or if the Packers are confident in Yosh Nijman or Elgton Jenkins — when healthy — taking over at right tackle, they can cut Turner and save $3.3 million.
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis’ future with the team could be tied to what Aaron Rodgers decides. In this scenario, with Rodgers returning, I certainly do think Lewis could return as well. Given his age, Green Bay isn’t going to extend Lewis, and a restructure only saves the Packers $66,667. So my guess is that he finishes on his current contract.
But if Green Bay really finds themselves in a bind, perhaps they could cut Lewis, save $2.44 million, and then re-sign him to a cheaper contract, similar to the scenario I described with Randall Cobb.
Also of note, while none of the tight ends on the roster are as good of blockers as Lewis, it is worth mentioning that Dominique Dafney (an exclusive rights free agent), Josiah Deguara, and Tyler Davis all finished the 2021 season ranked in the top-17 of PFF’s run-blocking grades among all tight ends–so they already have the personnel on the roster to fill Lewis’ role.