With the start of the new league year just days away, the offseason plan of the Green Bay Packers remains momentarily on hold while the team and quarterback Aaron Rodgers work through the details of a new contract for the four-time NFL MVP.
According to Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Packers have had to “pause most business” while working on Rodgers’ new deal.
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated reported the same on Saturday.
Rodgers, despite his intent to return to Green Bay for the 2022 season, has not signed a new contract with the Packers. Because the inner workings of his contract remain such a big part of the team’s financial puzzle, the rest of the big moves are stuck on hold.
The start of the new league year is Wednesday, March 16. The Packers, a team still over $40 million over the 2022 salary cap, have only a handful of days to get a new deal done with Rodgers and execute other cap-related moves to shed commitments.
The idea is that Rodgers’ new deal will lower his 2022 cap number from $46.7 million, immediately helping the Packers get under the cap by Wednesday. But here’s the thing: finishing a new deal with a soon-to-be 39-year-old quarterback who has considered retirement in back-to-back offseason but also won back-to-back NFL MVPs isn’t exactly a straightforward exercise.
It’s unclear what the hold-up is currently, but the obvious guess is that this is a tricky and complicated deal and both sides need to get what they want out of it.
But there is a time component to all of this, and the Packers need to start executing the rest of the offseason plan.
Of course, there is still plenty of time between now (Sunday afternoon) and Wednesday, and restructures and releases can all be executed in rapid succession over the next few days.
Addressing Za’Darius Smith’s cap number is probably the first step. He is still likely to be released, but the Packers aren’t in a hurry.
Buckle up. A deal with Rodgers needs to get done, and a busy few days are on the horizon in Green Bay.
