Green Bay Packers fans will not be thrilled with a recent CBS Sports ranking that had the franchise as the 4th biggest loser of the 2026 offseason. It is a red hot take to put the Packers alongside the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and Arizona Cardinals. All four of these teams either lost key contributors or had a high level of offseason drama. While the Packers lost a handful of important starters, what this ranking appears to be ignoring is returning starters and the ability of head coach Matt LaFleur.
The Packers didn't need splashy offseason additions but are banking on their development as well as returns of Tucker Kraft, Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, and Devonte Wyatt. Imagine the response if the Packers signed each of these four players in free agency, and what the response from pundits might be.
As boring as it might be, this is exactly the case as the franchise was without all four of these pieces and still managed to make the playoffs. Green Bay is counting on contributions from Matthew Golden and an impressive 2026 draft class.
This is clearly being overlooked by a disrespectful ranking that not only ignores common sense but also what the league itself is saying. Green Bay's schedule has five home games that will be prime-time matchups, pointing to the trust from the league that the Packers are going to be viable contenders.
Disrespectful Offseason Ranking Ignores Obvious Injury Imrovements in 2026 Season
The league isn't offering this type of scheduling to a team that they aren't expecting to be firmly in the playoff mix. Having Green Bay so highly scheduled in the featured slate helps offset the sting of a ranking that clearly isn't looking at the big picture of the pieces returning to the Packer lineup. Yes, the team opted for a quiet free agency, but this doesn't mean important additions weren't made.
Green Bay's most important core pieces are returning after a 2025 season, when in the first weeks it appeared the Packers were the best team in the league. Losing key players slowed this momentum and left a level of unknown potential.
Potential that the Packers are going to be able to fully realize as their roster has had a full offseason to get healthy and for head coach LaFleur to adjust his offense to the new starting pieces. To put it simply, there simply is no viable reason to doubt Green Bay is once again going to be in the playoff mix, with the schedule and roster both indicating this rating will age poorly.
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