Rob DemovskyMar 7, 2025, 06:00 AM ET
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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers might be sending mixed signals about how they plan to attack free agency, if they attack it at all.
It's not unusual for teams to be coy when meeting with agents before the frenzy begins Monday, when the two-day negotiating window opens before players can officially sign with new teams at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
According to multiple agents who spoke with the Packers last week at the combine, the team has expressed everything from patience in the early going of free agency to aggressiveness right out of the gate.
"They're going to be spenders," one agent source said.
Another agent source, however, said his impression after meeting with the Packers was that they might not be active until the second wave of free agency, when lower-priced players are still available.
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How and when they plan to spend that money has already begun to take shape.
Most teams approach free agency similarly in terms of a timeline. The first phase includes re-signing their own pending free agents, which the Packers have already done with linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, who signed a two-year, $8 million contract on Monday, and kicker Brandon McManus, who signed a three-year, $15.3 million contract on Tuesday.
The next phase is big-money free agents who get scooped up during the negotiating window, like the Packers did last year with running back Josh Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney.
The third phase is the second- and third-tier free agents who are considered lower-priced value signings.
"Every free agency class is a little bit different," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last week at the combine. "This one doesn't seem to be probably as strong as some, but we'll kind of see how it goes."
There appear to be three specific position groups the Packers plan to make a run at next week: cornerback, defensive line and receiver.
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Most of the Gutekunst's major free agent signings have been with players coming off their rookie contracts (such as McKinney) or not far removed from those deals (such as Jacobs, who was coming off a one-year deal with the Raiders that followed his original rookie deal).
That means he skews toward the younger players in free agency.
At cornerback, the top of the market features mostly players ranging from ages 25-28 -- right in Gutekunst's wheelhouse. With Jaire Alexander's time in Green Bay likely coming to an end, the Packers could make a run at the top free agents: San Francisco's Charvarius Ward (age 28), Minnesota's Byron Murphy II (27), the Chargers' Asante Samuel Jr. (25), Detroit's Carlton Davis III (28), the Jets' D.J. Reed (28) and the Saints' Paulson Adebo (25).
One agent, who annually predicts the free agent market, listed all six of those players likely to get at least $12 million per year, with Ward topping the list at $16 million.
Both Gutekunst and LaFleur have talked repeatedly this offseason about improving their pass rush from the front four. The best interior defensive lineman, Osa Odighizuwa, came off the board when he re-signed with the Cowboys on Tuesday for a deal that averages $20 million per year.
A pair of Super Bowl-champion Eagles could be available if Philadelphia can't re-sign defensive tackle Milton Williams or defensive end Josh Sweat. Williams (25) and Sweat (27) would be in the range of $16 million to $18 million per year. Same with former No. 2 overall pick Chase Young (25) of the Saints.
If Gutekunst breaks character, he could look at 34-year-old Khalil Mack, most recently of the Chargers, but the risk of giving Mack that type of money might be greater because of his age.
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The top of the receiver market skews older, too. With the Bengals intent on keeping Tee Higgins (26), it leaves the likes of Chicago's Keenan Allen (32), Kansas City's DeAndre Hopkins (32), Houston's Stefon Diggs (31), Buffalo's Amari Cooper (30), Tampa Bay's Chris Godwin (29) and the Giants' Darius Slayton (28) at the top of the receiver list in the $12 million to $18 million range.
Then there's 32-year-old Davante Adams, who may be open to returning to Green Bay after he was released by the Jets, or other veterans who have been or will be released.
There's another avenue the Packers could take at receiver, but it would be costly both in terms of money and draft picks. If they tried to trade for a receiver like DK Metcalf, they would have to give the 27-year-old a new, top-of-the-market contract in addition to whatever they would have to give up to get him from Seattle. It most likely would be a first- or second-day draft pick.
Before they re-signed McDuffie and McManus, the Packers had nearly $49 million in salary cap space. They will gain at least $6.7 million more when they move on from Alexander.
"We feel really good about our flexibility and where we're at," Gutekunst said. "Obviously [salary cap specialist] Russ [Ball] does a great job and we feel really confident, not only this year but how that affects next year and some of the contracts we have to do. I think we feel really good about being able to do what we want to do over the next two years to put a championship-level team out there."