Things might be looking up for Tucker Kraft very soon. (Photo: Jacob Morley, 247Sports)
By Mark Eckel
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst did what he does in free agency, the NFL draft and even added a few post-draft additions.
There may be a tweak here or a running back there over the next few months. For the most part Gutekunst and his personnel department can take it easy.
Now it's time for Russ Ball to get to work.
Ball is the Packers money man. He handles the contracts and maneuvers around the salary cap difficulties. And he and the GM have some decisions to make some sooner than later.
By an unofficial count the Packers will have 12 players on their 53-man roster who will either be on the final year of their contract in 2026 or signed a one-year deal with the team this past offseason.
It's time for the braintrust to decide how many of those dozen players deserve extensions and of the ones who do how soon should they get one.
Let's break it down into four categories.
Sooner the Better: TE Tucker Kraft, WR Christian Watson, DL Devonte Wyatt
All three of these key players may have already been extended if it weren't for injury concerns.
Kraft is coming back from a torn ACL. Watson tore his ACL in 2024 and has missed 20 of a possible 68 games in his four-year career. Wyatt missed seven games last season and 10 over the past two years.
Let's start with the tight end. The team may try to get him to take a similar deal to what Watson took a year ago (1-year, $11-million, $6 million in a signing bonus) to show that he's healthy. Kraft, who is the final year of his rookie deal at $3.6 million, may balk.
Watson's deal will be interesting. Alec Pierce, of the Colts, was taken in the same second round of the 2022 draft and just signed a four-year, $114 million deal with $84 million guaranteed and $26 million in a signing bonus.
Pierce's numbers are 157 receptions for 2,934 yards and 17 touchdowns in 64 games. Watson has 133-2,264-20 in his 48 games. Those extra 16 games, basically an entire season, can be looked at two ways. Durability would be one of the ways.
Wyatt was given his fifth-year option which means he will earn $12.9 million this year and count the same against the cap. An extension would likely lower his 2026 cap hit and keep him around for a few more years where he might just be a star in Jon Gannon's defense.
Don't Wait too Long: WR/KR Skyy Moore, EDGE Brenton Cox, TE Josh Whylie
Moore signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal. As soon as he returns his first punt and/or kickoff for a touchdown Ball might want to get his agent on the phone.
Cox signed a one-year $1.7 million deal. Injury wiped out most of his 2025 season. If you go back to 2024 he was the team's best pass rusher at the end of the season. It will be nice to see him play opposite Micah Parsons, something that has yet to happen.
Whylie (1-year, $2 million) has a good chance to be the team's No. 3 tight end. If he handles it well and excels on special teams he might be worth keeping around at a decent price.
Wait and See: TE Luke Musgrave, QB Tyrod Taylor
Musgrave certainly has not lived up to his second-round draft pick status. He's not a bad backup tight end, though. Let's see how he plays in his contract year and maybe if he's willing to come back at a reasonable price it might be worth it.
Taylor came in on a one-year $2.5 million deal to be Jordan Love's backup. He'll be 38 so it probably comes down to how much longer he wants to play.
No Hurry: CB Keisean Nixon, CB Carrington Valentine, LB Nick Niemann, WR Bo Melton
It's past time to re-do the CB room.
Niemann has lived on one-year deals and Melton's career may take the same turn.