Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is doing his best Oprah Winfrey impersonation.
You get a contract extension! You get a contract extension! You get a contract extension!
That trend continued on Monday with the decision to give standout defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt an extension. It reportedly is worth $57 million. Incredibly this offseason, the Packers have given contracts totaling more than $273 million to players with injury histories or coming off down seasons.
Taken in chronological order:
Extended: Sean Rhyan
The contract: After starting eight games at center (including playoffs), the Packers on the eve of free agency gave Rhyan a three-year, $33 million contract extension that included an $11 million signing bonus. The $11 million average ranks eighth among centers.
The gamble: That’s a heck of a gamble on a player with 456 career snaps at center, let alone on a player who the Packers seemingly were always looking to replace when he was at guard.
The Packers are betting his best days are in front of him.
Traded For and Restructured: Zaire Franklin
The contract: After trading Colby Wooden to the Colts for linebacker Zaire Franklin, the Packers gave the veteran a revised contract that totals $18.01 million over the next two years. The total money is not dramatically different than the deal he signed with the Colts, but he did pocket an additional $3.75 million guaranteed to help pay his moving costs.
The gamble: Playing the same number of snaps, Franklin in 2025 recorded 48 fewer tackles, four fewer tackles for losses, four fewer forced fumbles and two fewer interceptions compared to 2024. Is it realistic for a 30-year-old to have a bounce-back season?
The Packers are betting on it.
Signed: Javon Hargrave
The contract: Hargrave was released by the Vikings and landed directly on his feet with the Packers with a two-year, $23 million contract that included $10.5 million signing bonus.
The gamble: Hargrave in 2023 with the 49ers had seven sacks, 52 pressures, eight tackles for losses and 14 quarterback hits. Playing about the same number of snaps in 19 games the past two seasons (three with the 49ers in 2024, the only season in which he’s been injured, and 16 with the Vikings in 2025), Hargrave had 4.5 sacks, 39 pressures, five tackles for losses and seven quarterback hits.
Can the 33-year-old turn back the clock and join Wyatt in giving the Packers an impact tandem? The Packers are betting on it.
Extended: Jayden Reed
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) is injured while being tackled by Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The contract: Rather than going into his contract season, the 2023 second-round pick was given a three-year extension worth $50.25 million. Reed pocketed a $16.5 million signing bonus as part of $20 million guaranteed.
The gamble: Because of how he’s been used and his lack of size, Reed during his first two seasons was banged up at times, if not necessarily sidelined. Last season, a broken collarbone limited him to only seven games. In three seasons, he’s played 44.4 percent of the offensive snaps.
Can he stay healthy and be the force he was during his first two seasons? The Packers are betting on it.
Extended: Christian Watson
The contract: Last month, Watson signed a four-year extension worth $92 million. It included a $31 million signing bonus. The $23.0 million average ranks just outside the top 20 for receivers.
The gamble: Watson has missed 20 games in four seasons and played more than 50 percent of the snaps only once, 2024, when he snuck past at 51.2 percent. In 10 games last season following a torn ACL, he produced a 17-game pace of almost 1,040 yards. In reality, though, his career high is 620 yards.
Now that he’s been handed a No. 1 receiver payday, will he stay healthy and play like a No. 1? The Packers are betting on it.
Extended: Devonte Wyatt
Here’s our pre-training camp feature on Packers DT Devonte Wyatt, who got his big contract extension today. ⬇️https://t.co/lQw3QBBDBq
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 20, 2026
The contract: Wyatt was set to play this season under the fifth-year extension of about $12.9 million. Instead, he agreed to a three-year extension worth $57 million. As part of it, he received a $20.0 million signing bonus.
The gamble: Wyatt missed 10 games the last two seasons. In 2025, he was a full-time starter for the first time in four seasons, but had his year end after 10 games due to a broken leg and injured ankle ligaments. He’s played barely 1,500 snaps in his four-year career. When he’s on the field, he’s an impact pass rusher but not necessarily a three-down standout.
“We really like (him),” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “He’s got to get over the injury thing and make sure he can stay available to us but, when he’s out there, he’s very very impactful, not only in the run game but as a pass rusher, as well.”
Will he get over the “injury thing”? The Packers are betting on it.
Upcoming Extension: Tucker Kraft
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) is assisted off the field after getting injured against the Carolina Panthers. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The (potential) contract: A contract extension with Kraft is expected to be signed, sealed and delivered before he hits the field for his first practice following last year’s torn ACL. Kraft might become the first tight end to hit $20 million per season.
The gamble: Kraft was on a torrid pace before the injury and cemented his status as one of the best young tight ends in the NFL. He expects to be in the lineup for Week 1, but ACLs are fickle and, no matter what he says, there’s no guarantee he will return as the same player who destroyed the Steelers in primetime.
The Packers are betting on Kraft.
The Asterisk
Of course, there’s phony-baloney money in most big contracts, and that’s decidedly true for most of Green Bay’s big-money deals.
Watson is the extreme example of what’s really a two-year deal. If Watson is on the roster on the third-day of the league-year in 2028, the Packers will have to pay him a $13.0 million roster bonus. His base salaries will go from $1.425 million in 2026, $1.50 million in 2027 and $1.50 million again in 2028 to $19.125 million in 2029 and $17.375 million in 2030.
For Reed, he is due a $9.05 million base salary in 2028 and $10.05 million in 2029, making this really only an extension through 2027. Plus, almost $6 million is wrapped up in per-game roster bonuses as the Packers hedged their bets a bit.
Rhyan could be a one-year rental. If he’s on the roster on the third day of the league-year in 2027, the Packers will have to pay him a $6.65 million roster bonus.
Hargrave could be a one-year rental. In 2027, he is owed a $3.0 million roster bonus on the third day of the league-year and a $6.1 million base salary.
Exploding base salaries and/or hefty roster bonuses are either an ejector seat for the Packers or something that can be deal with in kick-the-can-down-the-road restructures. So, it’s not as if their salary cap would be obliterated if their gambles go bust.
Nonetheless, the Packers gave Franklin, Hargrave, Reed, Watson and Wyatt contracts with a combined signing bonus of $92.75 million. That is one heck of a bet that those players will stay healthy and/or rebound from down seasons. That doesn’t even include flipping the switch on Lukas Van Ness’ fifth-year option for the 2027 season. With a not-so-grand total of 8.5 sacks in three seasons, he will play next season for a guaranteed $13.75 million.
In a way, that is the price of doing business in a sport in which there is a 100 percent injury rate. Safe money doesn't make championship money. Still, these are high-risk gambles on players with significant questions.
If Gutekunst was right on at least most of these transactions, it will be money well spent by a championship-contending team. If he is wrong more than he is right, it should be grounds for dismissal.
Related: Here are three questions about thereceivers,offensive line,tight ends,running backs andquarterbacks. And on defense, it’s thesafeties,cornerbacks,linebackers,defensive tackles andedge defenders.
Here's our 25 most important Packers for the upcoming season, with quick-hitting looks at each player and links to full feature stories on those players, along with the start of the annual 91-to-1 series. ⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 17, 2026
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