What Are the Packers Going To Do With All Their Cap Space?

Dear Green Bay Packers fans,

Alright, that last part may be a bit of a stretch. Green Bay was never going to match the massive three-year, $81 million contract Linderbaum signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. However, Packers fans will always hang their stockings, hoping a big-name free agent will await them in the morning.

It may have seemed far-fetched that Green Bay could fit an expensive free agent under the cap a few days ago. However, with their recent cuts and contract reworkings, they can sign a premier free agent.

They started by trading Rashan Gary, who, to many fans' surprise, garnered a fourth-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys. Then they restructured Aaron Banks’ contract and released Elgton Jenkins, freeing up even more cap space.

On Tuesday morning, they cut Nate Hobbs, freeing up an additional $8 million for the upcoming season. That was expected after Hobbs’ subpar play in his first and only season with Green Bay.

The release of two-time Pro Bowler Elgton Jenkins was the most intriguing because Green Bay could’ve waited much longer. They may be hinting that they could make a big play for someone soon with their new salary cap flexibility.

Green Bay has around $33 million in cap space and can further increase it through additional restructuring. The question now is what to do with all that money, because they have the cap space for an expensive free agent.

Some signs point to Riq Woolen, a recent Super Bowl champion who could help bolster Green Bay’s porous secondary. Woolen makes sense. He can provide a much-needed boost in coverage and would only command about $8 million per year.

However, after the signing of Benjamin St-Juste, the defensive line must be at the forefront of the front office’s mind.

The Packers could use K'Lavon Chaisson because they only have four edge players under contract for the next season. Chaisson provides a healthy mix of experience and youth, along with proven playoff production.

Logan Hall is a large defensive end who started his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He could also be a cheaper option to fill the hole at the edge rusher position. Spotrac projects him to make around $8 million per year.

Even a guy like Bradley Chubb could be of some help, especially if the Packers can get him on a team-friendly deal, somewhere within the range of $12-15 million per year.

Another possibility for Green Bay is much more boring. With large Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft contracts looming over the horizon, it could be wise to save some cap space for those inevitable paydays.

Brian Gutekunst may opt to draft and develop from here on out, picking up a cheap player or two. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Packers finished free agency relatively quietly and continued to build in-house talent, as they’ve always done.