Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke differently at his end-of-year presser in February. This version of Gutekunst sounded more agitated, more frustrated than he did in previous seasons conducting the same press conference.
One thing Gutekunst wondered aloud to reporters was if the Packers had the right guys out there to get the job done. This offseason, he’s showing an ability to adjust outside of his normal parameters.
For me, there’s two things. One, do we have the right people out there that can handle those situations? And then two, are we doing everything to give them the best chance to succeed? We’re looking at it from all avenues.
The Packers had the youngest roster in the NFL for the third year in a row. We all know that story by now. Last April, head coach Matt LaFleur talked about embracing constantly having a roster littered with youth.
I love that we’re a young team because we’ve got a lot of guys that have a lot to prove. I just think there’s some standards that you have to have in place and I think most good teams have those standards in place. Certainly we’re not going to deviate from what is expected.
Fast forward to another year that ended with a head-scratching loss in Chicago after the Packers dominated for three quarters, and youth was at the forefront of many discussions. For what it’s worth, Gutekunst was asked in February if youth played a big factor in Green Bay’s inability to finish off games, and he said no. Give him a chug of truth serum, and that answer might be different, because Gutekunst’s actions this offseason have said otherwise.
Green Bay usually prefers to target free agents coming off their first contract, looking for a second, and entering the prime of their career. Just look at recent seasons with Gutekunst at the controls.
Last year, the two biggest additions (at least financially) came in the form of left guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs. Banks was 27 when he signed with the Packers, coming off a four-year stint in San Francisco. Looking to secure his second contract and entering his prime, Green Bay ponied up a four-year, $77 million deal.
Hobbs was 25 when he inked a contract with the Packers last offseason. Like Banks, he was coming off a four-year stint, his with the Las Vegas Raiders. Hobbs was rewarded with a four-year, $48 million contract entering his prime, coming off his first deal.
The year prior, the two biggest names were far more successful in Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney. Jacobs was 26 and entering his prime while McKinney was 25 and sniffing out a big contract after four strong years with the New York Giants.
This year, the Packers have attacked differently.
Gutekunst’s first splash came from trading away Colby Wooden to acquire Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. Franklin is set to turn 30 in July and is coming off a somewhat down season, but the long résumé speaks for itself.
Gutekunst’s free-agency encore came with the agreement on a two-year deal with veteran cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. St-Juste will be 29 before Week 1 and will be playing for his third team.
Green Bay typically wouldn’t target either player. Whether it was some sort of epiphany Gutekunst had or another revelation, there’s clearly an emphasis on bringing in a few more seasoned players.
The Packers have long pounded the table, proclaiming that drafting and developing is the way to go. That will still be the method in the great state of Wisconsin, but there may be an organizational realization that consistently being the youngest roster in the NFL isn’t as important as it first seemed. It hasn’t yielded a deep playoff run in any of the past three years, so the Packers are calling a mini audible themselves.
Youth isn’t entirely to blame for Green Bay’s inability to finish off games that shouldn’t hang in the balance. It’d be foolish to suggest so. It’d be equally foolish not to at least ponder the impact it has had in those big moments. Gutekunst believes in the roster he and the rest of the powers that be have put together. He said that directly in February, while reinforcing the idea that many of the players on the roster are now more than experienced enough to get the job done.
Our 2026 will be defined mostly by the guys who are already here, and what they do to get better and better our football team. I’m excited about that, because I really do like the group of guys we have in that locker room. There’s some guys that are really coming into the best years of their career. They’ve got a lot of experience under their belt now. We’re a seasoned team. I think right now what we have to do is we have to be able to get in those moments that we’ve struggled with the last two years and finish them off, and I’m excited about that.
Just to make sure, Gutekunst has added two players, Franklin and St-Juste, who have long résumés and proven experience. It’s an adjustment from how Gutekunst normally directs things. His ability to show a willingness to bend on his own core philosophies could be the difference for Green Bay in 2026 and beyond.