Green Bay has an interesting decision to make once the line backer contract comes off of the packers books
The biggest move expected from the Green Bay Packers this offseason is a long-term agreement for quarterback Jordan Love, who earned it after signing a one-year extension during the contract season last year. With only one full season of playing time under his belt, some may argue about how much he should or should not be paid, but many of those debates will be meaningless in the long run.
The Brink’s truck eventually catches up with starting quarterbacks. Think about it: Earlier this offseason, the Atlanta Falcons agreed to pay quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is 35 and coming off an Achilles tear, $180 million over four years. They quickly returned to the well and used the ninth overall pick.
This is all to suggest that love will be compensated. A lot. The structure will be fascinating, as the Packers do not guarantee money beyond the first year of an extension, but aside from that, “Love Watch” appears to be more of a waiting game than a truly critical decision for the organization — given that we already know the team will do the obvious.
Having said that, there is one huge extension this offseason that is approaching a true fork in the road. On the Packers’ 2024 cap table, the team’s biggest cap hit this season is 29-year-old defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who has a $27.5 million cap hit in a contract year. For perspective, Green
Clark’s 2023 contract valuation is $12.8 million per season, similar to his $12.9 million cap hit last year. However, the final year of his contract, 2024, has resulted in a $27.5 million cap figure due to his base salary being converted into a signing bonus with void years.
Green Bay has an interesting decision to make. Once inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s contract comes off of the Packers’ books on June 1st, the easiest way for the team to create cap space — either for a Love extension or to allow them to dabble in the veteran trade market — is to rework Clark’s contract to lower his cap hit, which likely means an extension for the former first-round pick.
