Unless Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst dips his toes into free agency with a couple more second tier veteran players, his 2020 shopping spree will likely end with a pair of street free agents and retaining a handful of roster depth players with his own exclusive rights free agents.
Here’s the amount of money Gutekunst decided not to invest on four players he either cut loose or let walk, 81.3 million dollars. That’s the total value of contracts signed by Bryan Bulaga, Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell and the released Jimmy Graham.
If fans had their heart set on Gutekunst going all in on top tier free agents like Corey Littleton, Joe Schobert, Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper, the total dollar figure for those four contracts is an almost grotesque 175.75 million dollars.
What the Packer GM did cut checks for, offensive tackle Rick Wagner, linebacker Christian Kirksey and his five exclusive rights free agents all tendered offers (Robert Tonyan, Jake Kumerow, Allen Lazard, Tyler Lancaster and Chandon Sulllivan), totals 30 million dollars.
I’m not saying the Packers are cheap, more like smart.
Gutekunst is doing everything he can to keep the Packers affordably competitive without jeopardizing future seasons when core players like Kenny Clark, David Bahktiari, Aaron Jones and Kevin King are playing on expiring contracts this fall. Retaining those players is more important than rolling the dice that Bulaga will survive one or maybe two more seasons, or that Martinez will become a big playmaker rather than a chase down tackler with limited coverage skills or that Fackrell will somehow replicate his 2018, 10.5 sack season with Za’Darius and Preston Smith ahead of him on the depth chart.
Wagner certainly isn’t the answer at right tackle on the Packers offensive line. His signing reminds me of the Jahri Evans experiment of a couple years ago, a veteran who can eat up snaps until a long term solution is found.
The Packers, and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine in particular, feel if Kirksey can stay healthy, he’ll be a faster and more versatile version of Martinez at inside linebacker while not piling up 100+ tackles. Pettine was Kirksey’s Head Coach for his first two years in Cleveland and undoubtedly, gave Gutekunst a hopeful recommendation to bring him aboard.
Give Blake credit for positioning himself for the big second contract from the New York Giants. Same for Bulaga who played all 16 regular season games despite mangling his hand, enduring a concussion and sitting out the Seattle playoff game with a bucket alongside his bed. He’ll give the Los Angeles Chargers a solid effort but remember both Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang broke down rapidly after leaving Green Bay.
Entering his third year in the GM chair, Gutekunst hit home runs last season in free agency with the Smiths, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner. This week, he’s content with hitting solid singles or maybe a double to keep his roster building batting average up for a team that, lest we forget, was a mere 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl.
