Quick fixes still available for Packers
GREEN BAY – Before the NFL’s freeagency period began, the Green Bay Packers signed one of the league’s best available players.
Aaron Jones gives the Packers one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL. In the past week, no other team signed a running back who gained 3,017 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns the past two seasons.
A week later, the Packers re-signed one of their most important players. Yes, cornerback Kevin King had a terrible NFC championship game, and his constant injuries have rankled fans for years. When King was on the field, the Packers’ defense was better. Now he can be on the field in the Packers’ defense for at least one more season.
But because Jones and King spent the past four seasons on the Packers’ roster, their contracts might be seen differently. Instead of improving on last season’s 13-3 record and trip to the NFC championship game, signing Jones and King are preventative steps to ensure the Packers don’t decline in 2021.
When it comes to additions, the Packers ended their drought Wednesday signing free-agent long snapper Joe Fortunato. Otherwise, they’ve been shut out. Instead, the free-agent period has represented departures. Center Corey Linsley is gone. Running back Jamaal Williams is out.
The Packers missed the first wave of free agency, but that doesn’t mean they’ve missed the chance to sign players who might make them better. Here’s a look at NFL free agents on the open
market who could fill a need on the Packers’ roster.
Jurrell Casey, DL
It wasn’t long ago Casey was one of the best defensive linemen around. He was selected to five straight Pro Bowls with the Tennessee Titans before last season, when a biceps tear ended his first Denver Broncos season after just three games. Casey will enter his age-32 season in 2021, an age when players often begin to lose a step. If age and injury are enough to drop his market value into a reasonable range, he could be the tagteam partner with Kenny Clark the Packers badly need.
Danny Shelton, DL
General manager Brian Gutekunst has shown no reservation about beefing up the Packers’ defensive line. Case in point: The Packers have 361-pound Anthony Rush on their roster. Shelton, the former first-round pick entering his age-28 season, would add even more beef. Shelton doesn’t provide much pass rush, recording just one sack last season after a career-high three in 2019. But the Packers have a pass rush. What they need is run defense. Shelton provides a whole lot of run defense at 345 pounds..
Casey Hayward, CB
A reunion would make a lot of sense. The Packers were wrong to let Hayward walk after the 2015 season. Hayward promptly was selected to the Pro Bowl each of the next two years. He’s no longer the same ballhawk he was early in his time with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, leading to Hayward’s release as a cap casualty. For a Packers team that needs cornerbacks even after resigning King and tendering restricted free agent Chandon Sullivan, he would be an immediate upgrade.
Richard Sherman, CB
Across the NFC North, the Vikings made a splash signing cornerback Patrick Peterson. Sherman would answer one splash with another. He would not be cheap, and given he’ll turn 33 next season the Packers would need to think hard about what Sherman has left (he played in only five games for San Francisco last season because of a calf injury). Still, imagine Sherman on one perimeter of the Packers’ defense, King on the other perimeter, and Jaire Alexander in the middle of the field playing new coordinator Joe Barry’s “star” position.
Russell Okung, OT
The Packers have only two offensive tackles on their roster, and one is rehabbing from a torn ACL. With David Bakhtiari’s availability at the start of the 2021 season uncertain, the Packers certainly could use some left tackle depth. Okung is a career left tackle, having started 131 games on the blindside over the past 11 seasons, and could start for the Packers if Bakhtiari’s rehab lingers into the first weeks of the season. That would keep Billy Turner at right tackle, where he performed well last season.
Jared Veldheer, OT
The Packers signed Veldheer during the playoffs last season, a move that might have led to him lining up as their starting left tackle. His positive COVID-19 test prevented that scenario, but Veldheer should still garner some consideration for 2021. The Packers could use veteran depth at tackle even if they draft the position high this spring. Veldheer played well for the Packers as a right tackle in the 2019 playoffs, but they didn’t bring him back until the end of last season. If Veldheer doesn’t retire before his age-34 season, maybe he can fill that need for all of 2021.
Austin Reiter, C
The Packers chose not to retain the best center on the open market, letting Linsley sign a five-year, $62.5 million with the Chargers. Would they consider perhaps the second-best center on the market at a reduced salary? Reiter has been the Kansas City Chiefs’ top center the past two seasons, starting 28 of his 31 games. He turns 30 in November and should have good years left. The Packers have a lot of options for their interior offensive line, including sliding Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins to center. Signing a center might be the best option.