The Green Bay Packers are in a bit of an awkward position right now. On the one hand, they're right on the verge of being a Super Bowl contender. On the other hand, they might still need another star to get over the hump.
Losing defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley also raises some concerns on that side of the field. Jonathan Gannon, his replacement, has had mixed success in his previous stops, and the Packers might need to give him another weapon for his uber-conservative defense.
Considering that, Jacob Infante, an NFL Draft analyst for Pro Football Network, chose the Packers among several potential landing spots for Joey Bosa. While that doesn't necessarily mean they're interested in his services, it certainly raises an interesting debate.
Should the Packers roll the dice on Joey Bosa?
Infante wrote, "they drafted Dani Dennis-Sutton in Round 4, but he’s a raw technician who should be strictly in backup territory as a rookie. Bosa would give Green Bay the reliable rotational piece they lack off the edge, while serving as a much-needed insurance policy for Van Ness."
On paper, Bosa would give the Packers another proven headhunter to start opposite Micah Parsons. More importantly, it would give them a placeholder to start for Parsons if he's not cleared to return from his season-ending ACL njury in the first stretch of the season.
Lukas Van Ness has failed to live up to the expectations, and now that the Packers have picked up his fifth-year player option, he might not be as motivated to earn his new contract as he may have been before that.
Also, as Infante mentioned, Dennis-Sutton is a developmental prospect at this point. The Packers are usually quite patient with their rookies, so it's hard to believe they're going to throw him into the fire early and often as a rookie.
Of course, Bosa also comes with his fair share of question marks. He's been mostly healthy over the past couple of years, but he's been an injury-prone guy for most of his career, and the Packers already saw their aspirations derailed by injuries last season.
On top of that, Spotrac projects Bosa's market value at $13.7 million per year. Per Over The Cap, the Packers only have $18.1 million in available cap space, so they would have to convince him to take a discount or -- even better -- give him an incentives-based deal.
Bosa would make sense for this team at the right price, and given the apparent lack of interest in his services, he might be willing to lower his financial aspirations to play for a Super Bowl contender. He led the league with five forced fumbles last season, and once Parsons is back to full strength, this team could have one of the strongest pass-rushing tandems in the game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google