The Green Bay Packers are having a 2021 offseason to forget. It doesn’t seem to matter what they do. Things keep going wrong for them. This after coming minutes away from possibly playing in the Super Bowl back in January. They’re supposed to be a team competing for a championship. Instead, they’re starting to look like a team that is facing an imminent implosion.
Aaron Rodgers has already dominated headlines with his declaration he’d not be returning to the team due to differences with the front office. Then just this past week star wide receiver Davante Adams added to the misery when he reportedly broke off contract talks with the team. Remember he will be a free agent in 2022. So this is pretty significant. The two even posted the same photograph of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on Instagram. A clear nod to “The Last Dance” documentary about the demise of the Chicago Bulls’ 1990s dynasty.
They may not be the only ones who sense an end coming.
Za’Darius Smith has established himself as the best player on the Packers’ defense over the past two seasons. His 26 sacks prove that. However, he caused a bit of a stir when he took to Twitter asking about finding a good realtor. This inevitably lit off speculation that he might be unhappy with Green Bay. The pass rusher quickly insisted he was just trying to take advantage of a strong seller’s market in the real estate world. Mike Florida of Pro Football Talk isn’t so sure that’s true.
“As one league source explained it to PFT, Smith is believed to be unhappy about the team exercising the automatic conversion option in his contract, converting a large chunk of 2021 salary to a guaranteed payment and, in turn, pushing his 2022 cap number north of $28 million. He knows that, come next year, the magnitude of the cap charge for keeping him around means he’ll likely be cut or traded.
Smith, per the source, didn’t realize the import of the automatic conversion language. Also, he’s believed to be not happy that the Packers didn’t pay out the 2021 guarantee ($14.76 million) in March. By letter of the agreement, the Packers will make the payments in weekly chunks during the season, resulting in Smith getting no net benefit from the move. Instead, the restructuring hurts him because it makes his cap number in 2022 too high for the team to carry.”
Green Bay has a load of salary cap problems facing them in 2022. Recent estimates have them being around $34 million in the red. That means Smith could be a prime candidate to get released or traded. He’ll turn 30-years old in September of next year. Cutting him would net the team $15.75 million in space. So it is easy to understand why he might be upset. Basically, the Packers signed him, used up the last of his peak years, and could end up kicking him to the curb.
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Last Dance feel here RT @ByKimberleyA: 🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/iuwXu9iR4K
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 24, 2021
Green Bay Packers could see it all fall apart by next offseason
Will Rodgers bite the bullet and return? Nobody knows. An answer is coming though. By the middle of next week. However, it is clear that this 2021 season might be the last for the current Packers’ core of stars. Rodgers wants out and he’ll get his wish eventually. If he goes, it’s a safe bet Adams will try to wiggle his way free. The receiver even admitted a desire to reunite with friend and former college QB Derek Carr.
Now throw in the growing possibility that their best defender could be gone after this season too? The Green Bay Packers are not in an enviable position. One made even worse if Rodgers doesn’t end up playing this year. They better hope Jordan Love ends up being good. All of this really started when GM Brian Gutekunst made that pick. If the kid can play, it might not get too bad.
If he can’t.
Then a lot of changes will be coming to the Packers front office in the not-too-distant future. For now, all eyes are fixed on next Wednesday. That is when players are set to report for training camp. Adams and Smith will attend despite their well-documented issues. It comes down to whether Rodgers will join them.