A few months removed from a playoff defeat in Philadelphia, the Green Bay Packers have taken crucial steps to address some of their most glaring weaknesses from that game.
When Elgton Jenkins went down, the offensive line crumbled after being strong all season. Rather than gamble on perfect health for future campaigns, general manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the room significantly with a second-round pick in Anthony Belton and a large free-agent contract for Aaron Banks. Combined with the potential for 2024 first-rounder Jordan Morgan to grow and contribute, Jordan Love’s protection is looking strong.
Secondly, between health and skill limitations, wideouts were having a tough time winning their matchups. Gutekunst infused that room with much-needed juice, selecting Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third. They will join Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks while Christian Watson rehabs a torn ACL suffered late last season.
Those investments of cap space and draft capital left two premium positions of need unaddressed: cornerback and edge rusher.
At cornerback, the door creaked open for Jaire Alexander to return on a restructured contract, and momentum has grown towards a resolution. However, at edge rusher, it feels like a lot of hoping that Rashan Gary will return to elite status and Lukas Van Ness will take a third-year leap on the other side of him.
Looking at the pass rush Green Bay generated and how deeply it affects winning, leaving the position unaddressed could be a colossal mistake. Gutekunst has been open about his desire to see a big jump from his young team and quarterback in 2025.
The disgruntled Trey Hendrickson stands out as a potential bailout opportunity amidst Gutekunst’s decision to prioritize other positions. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Hendrickson is “extremely dug in” with his contract demands and may miss several games or perhaps the entire 2025 season.
The holdout shtick is nothing new in the NFL. It is rarely successful because players lack true leverage in that standoff. Still, the Cincinnati Bengals have become seasoned professionals at managing it due to their penny-pinching reputation and negotiation processes. After dishing out massive contracts to their offensive trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, the rest of the pie is looking small for Mike Brown and his staff.
However, the 2024 season was a story about Green Bay’s ceiling. They won a lot of games and played well at times, but they couldn’t secure timely wins against major opponents. Therefore, the Wild Card round against the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles was a fitting place for their journey to end. The NFC’s elite have a key commonality, and it’s pretty intuitive.
You can’t give those quarterbacks too much time. Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, and, soon enough, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams will take advantage.
Situations like Cincinnati’s around the league emphasize the unique type of organization that the Packers run. Rooted in history, tradition, and, of course, the smallest major sports market in the country, Green Bay has maintained an identity that has allowed it to reward its homegrown talent swiftly and without much issue.
The albatross in that discussion is Aaron Rodgers, whose late-career media circuses were out of character. Still, Gutekunst was able to mold that debacle into the vision he had planned, onboarding Love over multiple years and trading Rodgers to the New York Jets for a respectable draft haul.
Instead of holding out, Alexander is expected to attend the voluntary offseason program despite the team looking to reduce or even offload his contract. Of course, that creates all sorts of injury liability concerns for the front office, so expect a resolution on No. 23 sooner rather than later.
With financial flexibility and true need, the Packers are well-positioned to benefit from Cincinnati’s bad business. It remains to be seen who will blink first in that stand-off, but rumors have suggested the possibility of Hendrickson being moved for months.
He would bring an immediately terrifying one-two punch to Green Bay and put Van Ness in position to grow and gain experience in the role that Gary once played behind Preston and Za’Darius Smith. It’s not the type of blockbuster deal that the Packers are known for making, but it might be the one where the stars align and take this promising young roster from good to great.