Free agency is, for all intents and purposes, over. As the calendar flips to June, teams across the NFL are preparing to host Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamps. These events come before a long summer break that leads into training camp.
OTAs and minicamps offer an excellent opportunity to evaluate the newly acquired players on the roster. The next few weeks will be exciting to see guys like Aaron Banks, Nate Hobbs, and Matthew Golden don green and gold for the first time.
Another benefit of these offseason activities is identifying remaining roster needs. While free agency has been mostly picked clean, a few veterans remain who could step in and contribute if needed.
Green Bay has mostly set its depth chart at the top, so don’t expect any blockbuster names — sorry to the “Amari Cooper to the Packers” crowd. However, due to either injury history or underperformance, a few value vets should be on GM Brian Gutekunst’s speed dial as the summer progresses.
Tight End: Anthony Firkser
I can’t be the only one who isn’t exactly excited about the battle between Ben Sims and John FitzPatrick going into Year 2. Neither player took advantage of Luke Musgrave’s extended absence last year to assert themselves as the frontrunner for the TE3 spot.
Given that Musgrave has missed large chunks of both of his first two seasons, it’s a safe bet he’ll be sidelined again at some point. The Packers need more reliable depth at tight end behind him to ensure such a drastic drop-off doesn’t recur in 2025.
Tucker Kraft is a rising star, but he played 85% of the offensive snaps last year. At such a demanding position, that workload isn’t sustainable in the long term. The Packers must reduce his snap count to keep him fresh and healthy.
Firkser isn’t a dynamic playmaker and is unlikely to suddenly become one at age 30. However, he’s familiar with Matt LaFleur from their season together in Tennessee, where he caught 19 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. That compares favorably to the combined five catches for 44 yards by Sims and FitzPatrick last season.
He had his best season in 2020, when he caught 41 passes for 431 yards and a touchdown on 52 targets. He wouldn’t receive that many opportunities in Green Bay, but the mere threat of a competent option at TE3 should be attractive.
Firkser spent last year bouncing between the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets’ practice squads and didn’t appear in a regular-season game. That said, he should come cheap and provide steady insurance if Sims and FitzPatrick continue to underwhelm and the Packers look for more production.
Defensive Tackle: Taven Bryan
Perhaps no position on Green Bay’s roster has less experience behind the starters than defensive tackle. The projected starting interior line of Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, and Karl Brooks is solid, but what happens if one of them misses time?
Behind them are Colby Wooden (entering Year 3), sixth-round rookie Warren Brinson, and undrafted free agent Nazir Stackhouse. Wooden might struggle to make the roster if the team only keeps five defensive linemen. Brinson is talented but unlikely to make an immediate impact as a sixth-round pick. Stackhouse faces the steepest uphill battle of all.
If Clark suffers an injury and Wyatt’s durability remains a concern, as it has in his first two years, the Packers could make a playoff push with two rookies manning the middle of the defensive front.
Taven Bryan may not be a game-wrecker, but anyone still available isn’t likely to be at this point in the offseason. However, he’s experienced. A first-round pick in 2018, Bryan has played in 110 career games with 46 starts. Last year, he served in a backup role for the Indianapolis Colts, appearing in 14 games and recording 17 tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.
His best season was with the Cleveland Browns in 2022, when he started all 16 games and posted 26 tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, and six quarterback hits.
Even in a limited role in 2024, he posted positive PFF grades: 55.3 in run defense and 65.3 as a pass rusher. That run-defense grade was actually higher than T.J. Slaton’s, who the Packers lost in free agency. Slaton received harsh PFF marks for his 2024 performance with a 45.3-overall grade, 45 in run defense, and a 13.5% missed tackle rate — all among the lowest at his position. Based on those metrics, Bryan could represent an upgrade.
Green Bay’s roster is among the youngest and most talented in the NFL. Entering the summer, there aren’t many glaring needs. In a perfect world, the team won’t have to make any further additions, the roster will develop as expected, and they will minimize injuries.
But in the real world, attrition happens. And when it does, these two veteran free agents could be valuable additions to help keep the season in the right direction.