Packers restricted free agent Tyler Davis will return but Krys Barnes will not
By Paul Bretl
Restricted free agents Tyler Davis and Krys Barnes were non-tendered prior to Wednesday’s 3:00 CST deadline, making them unrestricted free agents. Davis will return, however, to the Green Bay Packers for the 2023 season, but Barnes will not, according to Bill Huber of SI.
A restricted free agent is a player with three years of accrued NFL experience. In short, the original team can place a tender on that player that comes with a predetermined salary based on the type of tender it is, whether that be a first-round, second-round, or right-of-first-refusal tender. If a tender is placed, that restricted free agent can still negotiate with other teams, and if they receive an offer, the current team can either match or decline, in which case they would receive a first or second-round pick in return, depending on the tender placed.
The fact that Davis and Barnes didn’t receive a tender isn’t surprising. Both are players who will receive close to league minimum contracts, which is less than the cost that comes with any of the three tenders mentioned. It’s also not surprising that Davis will be back and Barnes will not.
In Davis’ case, he plays at the tight end position, where the Packers are extremely short on depth. Prior to re-signing Davis, Josiah Deguara is the only player on the roster with any NFL experience. In addition to that, Davis also led the team in special teams snaps in 2022, playing on five different units, and he tied for second in total tackles, according to PFF ($$). When discussing Davis, it’s also worth mentioning that both Rich Bisaccia and Brian Gutekunst had high praise for him last summer.
While Davis plays a position where Green Bay could use more depth, Barnes does not. In fact, the linebacker room has become somewhat crowded, and we saw this last season, with Barnes oftentimes the odd man out as a healthy scratch on gameday.
As we all know, Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell will take the majority of the defensive snaps. But along with those two, Isaiah McDuffie, who is still on his rookie deal, emerged as a core special teams player, ranking third on the team in snaps and tied for first in solo tackles.
Then there is Eric Wilson, who is an unrestricted free agent but was tied with McDuffie for the team lead in solo tackles, despite not joining the Packers until October. As a core member of the special teams unit, as well as someone who won’t break the bank, I wrote that I expect him to be someone that Green Bay re-signs. If that’s how things play out, then that’s already four linebackers on the roster, which in some seasons, has been how many the Packers have kept on the 53-man.
Davis’ return and Barnes’ departure shouldn’t have any impact on how the Packers go about free agency or the draft. Tight end position should still remain a top priority, with Green Bay ideally signing a veteran in free agency, along with spending for sure one, if not two, selections on the position in the draft in what is a deep draft class.
Linebacker, meanwhile, remains low on the priority list when it comes to positions to address for the reasons mentioned. If Wilson isn’t back, Green Bay will need to bolster their depth there, but that shouldn’t require a lot of salary cap or draft capital to do so.