Did the Green Bay Packers have a successful first week of free agency?
That’s the question that will be on the minds of Packers fans and media members alike for the next few days. The answer, of course, depends on how you prefer to evaluate a set of acquisitions. The Packers, of course, put a fairly high priority on not canceling out their high compensatory draft picks, as they should be in line for a 3rd, 4th, and 5th in 2027 after Malik Willis, Romeo Doubs, and Quay Walker signed elsewhere.
GM Brian Gutekunst made one big splash, signing Javon Hargrave within an hour of the Minnesota Vikings officially releasing him. Otherwise, much of the team’s acquisitions were focused around special teams and depth, with Benjamin St-Juste likely signed as a reserve cornerback and special teams ace and the team bringing in return man Skyy Moore as well. Then there are the re-signings, as the likes of Chris Brooks, Nick Niemann, and Kristian Welch are all major special teams contributors.
Was it an overly sexy year for free agency acquisitions? Not so much. But these deals set up the Packers to have flexibility in the 2026 NFL Draft — something they always highly value — plus the team avoided committing too much big money to outside players. That also provides significant financial flexibility to sign some of their own key players to contract extensions sometime in 2026, with Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft as the two highest priorities.
To this writer, at least, that seems like a successful week.