The Green Bay Packers' cornerback situation was a concern at this point last year. A whole season went by, and things are essentially the same. The Packers have yet to find a suitable replacement for Jaire Alexander, and finding a legitimate CB1 should be near the top of their offseason to-do list.
The Packers put a lot of faith into CB Nate Hobbs when they signed him to a four-year, $48 million contract last offseason, hoping he could replace Alexander's impact. Instead, Hobbs was hardly healthy, and even when he was able to suit up, he was mostly a negative asset.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Green Bay's front office is ready to address that mistake.
"No firm decisions made yet, but Brian Gutekunst says he'd expect G Aaron Banks & CB Nate Hobbs back next season," Packers reporter Weston Hodkiewicz reported on Thursday. In other words, Green Bay fans can expect to see a Hobbs-sized problem back in the secondary this fall.
Packers Seem Fine with Repeating Nate Hobbs Mistake in 2026
Former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's departure seemed like the perfect opportunity to sell high on Hobbs and send him to the Miami Dolphins. Hafley often praised Hobbs' positional versatility and ability to line up both at the slot and on the outside, which is something he failed to prove in his first season in Lambeau Field.
Now, the Packers seem ready to double down on their mistake.
Giving Hobbs a four-year, $48 million contract looked like a bargain at the time, but that's clearly not the case. He finished his first season with the team with 27 total tackles (14 solo), two tackles for loss, two passes defensed, and zero interceptions. Per Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks had a 125.3 passer rating when targeting him, the worst mark in his career.
He's too slow to play on the outside, but also isn't good enough to replace Javon Bullard as Green Bay's slot defender. All of this adds up to Gutekunst likely needing to wake up and realize that a split might be what's best for what the team needs.
Cutting Hobbs would hit the Packers with $12 million in dead money before March 13, per Spotrac; however, that penalty drops to $4 million after June 1. A mid-offseason move like that would create over $8.8 million in savings, which Green Bay could use to further flesh out its CB depth, hopefully, with names more reliable than Hobbs.
The Packers already need to figure out what to do with Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine looks like the only lock to keep his spot in new DC Jonathan Gannon's secondary. It's still early in the offseason, and perhaps they just don't want to kill his trade value, but holding onto Hobbs for another season is a decision the Packers might come to regret sooner rather than later.