Green Bay Packers, GM Brian Gutekunst get blasted for free agency moves.
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Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst.
No one in the NFL saw as much of their talent from last season sign with other teams in free agency than the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers may have signed seven new players to their roster, but that may not make up for the 10 they lost, most of whom were starters last year.
According to The Athletic’s Mike Sando, players that left in free agency or who were traded commanded $97.6 million in combined APY, which ranked for second most in the league.
“That was a big part of the -$70.8 million APY differential for the Packers, the second-largest negative differential this offseason (Miami is at -$79.0 million — no other team is beyond -$60 million). The differential would have been more extreme if left tackle Rasheed Walker, who is facing a gun charge, hadn’t found a cool market,” Sando wrote.
While the numbers may tell enough of the story, NFL executives didn’t exactly have a lot of confidence in what the Packers did in free agency either.
Packers’ Lack of Aggression in Free Agency Raises Questions
Green Bay’s approach this offseason has been viewed as largely passive, especially when compared to how much talent they lost. Rather than aggressively replacing departing starters, the Packers mostly stayed put, relying on smaller moves and internal options.
That stood out to executives across the league.
“Green Bay didn’t do anything,” an NFL exec told Sando. “They are a team that historically drafts very well. They are really not a player in free agency.”
As Sando noted, even their most notable additions came without won’t cost them anything. Javon Hargrave’s deal won’t result in a loss of a compensatory pick since he was released, and the trade for Zaire Franklin didn’t cost them any draft capital after sending Colby Wooden to Indianapolis.
Hargrave signed a two-year, $23 million deal with $10.5 million guaranteed, while Franklin was brought in to help fill the void left by Quay Walker’s departure to the Las Vegas Raiders. Still, around the league, those moves were seen more as maintenance than meaningful upgrades.
“It is hard to say they did anything beyond just stay pat,” another exec said.
Micah Parsons Trade Still Limiting Packers
The Packers already made their biggest move — and it came before the 2025 season when they traded for Micah Parsons.
That deal paid off immediately on the field, but it continues to impact how the team is building its roster now.
Green Bay sent its 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys in the deal, limiting its ability to reload through this year’s draft. That lack of premium draft capital has also made it harder to add talent in free agency.
“With no first-round pick because of the Parsons trade, Green Bay has few avenues remaining to make impact additions,” Sando said.
And now, there’s another layer to it.
Parsons is expected to miss the beginning of the 2026 season due to recovering from his ACL injury, meaning the Packers won’t even have their biggest acquisition available early on.
That only adds more pressure to a roster that already lost significant talent this offseason — and makes the lack of aggressive moves in free agency stand out even more.
For a team that already paid a steep price to acquire Parsons, the timing couldn’t be worse.