GREEN BAY, Wis. – Money talks. And so have the Green Bay Packers, even if it might seem like the silence has been deafening.
A few days after the playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which ended a season that started with championship hopes that never got close to taking flight, general manager Brian Gutekunst used a word that reverberated throughout the offseason.
“The thing that’s been on my mind as we concluded this season is we need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency,” Gutekunst said at Lambeau Field.
The key word was “urgency,” and it was viewed as a signal that Gutekunst would make the type of bold moves necessary to vault the Packers into a contender.
That didn’t happen, though.
Or did it?
“I think we were 10th in the league in spending,” Gutekunst told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday.
He’s right. According to OverTheCap.com, the Packers have spent $149.8 million on free agents this offseason. That, indeed, ranks 10th in the NFL. Sure, it’s about half of what the Minnesota Vikings have spent and ranks seventh in the NFC, but it’s almost as much as the Detroit Lions ($102.7 million) and Philadelphia Eagles ($66.1 million) combined.
Gutekunst made two big splashes at the start of free agency with guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs. He also re-signed linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and kicker Brandon McManus before free agency, and added receiver Mecole Hardman and linebacker Kristian Welch in the secondary waves of free agency.
So, what about urgency?
“I think the urgency comment is really more for our team, our organization to understand what the expectations are,” Gutekunst explained. “At the same time, for us, I think we were very urgent in free agency.
“Obviously, we went after a couple top targets, we were able to acquire them, and I think that really is going to help our football team. The urgency comment is across the board. I think it’s for our players, it’s for our organization in how we’re going to approach things.”
Gutekunst could have done more. According to OTC, the Packers have about $28.3 million of cap space. Only eight teams have more.
However, while “urgency” was the memorable word from that end-of-season news conference, he said something else that day. This free-agent class lacked a Xavier McKinney or a Josh Jacobs, the 2024 additions that changed everything about the way the Packers played on defense and offense.
You can only sign the players that are available. You can’t sign a young, in-his-prime, No. 1 receiver when that player doesn’t exist.
“Every free agent class is different,” Gutekunst said. “You have to be honest with yourselves about it. You can’t just go chasing after things and try to create stuff. We very much felt the targets that we targeted were the ones worth targeting.
“Again, I think we were 10th in the league in free agency spending this offseason. So, I thought we were pretty aggressive and were able to acquire guys pretty early. But every year is unique with the free agency class, and I think it’s just a matter of how you evaluate that.”
By Gutekunst’s evaluation, Banks and Hobbs were enough, especially with the Packers facing significant salary-cap hurdles next offseason. Every dollar in cap spent in 2025 is one that can’t be spent in 2026 without returning to the credit-card approach that marked the end of the Aaron Rodgers era, which was impacted by COVID-related cap reductions.
With the addition of Banks at left guard and Elgton Jenkins replacing Josh Myers at center, Gutekunst hopes the offensive line will develop into a powerful unit.
“Obviously, a really large man that can do all the things that Matt (LaFleur) asks those guys to do in our scheme as far as our ability to get off the ball quickly, get out in space and really run,” Gutekunst said of Banks, a second-round pick by the 49ers in 2021 who allowed one sack last year.
“Again, this isn’t a 295-pound man. This is a 330-pound man. His ability to play physical in the run game and anchor down in the pass pro is something where he’s played at a high level for a few years now. To get a guy like that really in the prime of his career is something I thought would really benefit us.”
Gutekunst credited director of pro personnel Richmond Williams for keeping tabs on the development of Hobbs, who gave up a completion rate of just 42.9 percent with zero touchdowns allowed in 11 games last year, according to Sports Info Solutions.
“We just really thought he’s a really versatile all-around corner, can do everything,” Gutekunst said. “We really like his ability to play on the outside, which he hasn’t done a ton of, but the ability to move him inside and match different receivers, and his play style I think is one of the things that really stood out to all of us. Really, really excited to see what he’s going to do for us this year.”
Hardman was the only addition at receiver, where the Packers will start the season without Christian Watson due to his torn ACL. While Hardman has excellent speed, he has only 27 receptions for 212 yards in 23 games the past two seasons. However, he averaged 10.2 yards per punt return for the Chiefs last season and has career averages of 9.2 yards per punt return and 23.8 yards per kickoff return.
“He’s obviously going to add some speed to our football team,” Gutekunst said. “He’s been in big games and played well in big games. He’s been hampered by some injuries along the way but, when he’s healthy, he’s certainly an impactful player.”