Can they block a little for Moore? Or will the yellow flags rain down for clipping, holding, and just generally illegally attempting to block anyone and everyone?

Al, if Gute signed Rodgers to back up Love on a $10mm one year deal, would that be at the worst or best end of your scale?

It's not a very exciting offseason when the best move is a trade for a fourth round pick next year. But that's where we're at. It looks like Gutekunst has done a pretty good job filling in potholes. This team is ready to compete at a high level as long as the injured players come back fully healed.

"offensive line could open any holes for Josh Jacobs was to use an extra lineman, but I won't say that. Oh wait."

If they had actually opened some holes, it would have been a win. The only thing that worked when they went JUMBO is the pass because the D would stack 7 or 8 in the box and the Packers couldn't make a running lane with a road grader.

If you add up all the moves the Packers have made, it's all designed to give the Packers more flexibility in the draft. If, when their picks come around they do not get good choices at their positions of need, they at least can avoid some of the pressure to improve those positions, like DT, CB, ILB, OL, because they have already puts vets in there, or re-signed Packers (like Rhyan, to play Center).

Without a 1st round pick this year and no multiple picks in any round until the 7th, the Packers need more than ever to have the maximum freedom to pick the best players available. There were underrated trade, FA, and swap moves by Gute here - and I like his plan.
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Of course everyone wants to get excited by a big splash in FA, but this year we are looking for smaller moves that don't cut too much into our many comp picks next year - and the Packers also have an eye on having enough cash reserves to afford as many near-future key contracts as they can, like Kraft, Reed, Watson, Wyatt.........and to do that without pushing every possible dollar into future debt.

Finally, as part of the planning for future cap health, Gute and Ball have Morgan in place to take over from Walker at LT, Golden to take over from Doubs at WR, Banks and Belton to each man a guard spot with Elgton gone and Rhyan shifted to Center. There is also LVN to take over from Gary (though I think that was unplanned). Taken as a whole this team is in a good place, with more additions to come in the draft...........and possibly a small move or two post draft and finally, post roster cut-down.

That SB window looks realistically doable, at least for two years - and maybe more.

Derealization by a NFL GM.
Gute has created uncertainty on edge.
Moving on from Walker's high-end athleticism
is Creating Illusions of deception, manipulation,
and carefully crafted narratives.
(Quay Walker would not have gotten paid)
And there is NO proven depth along the OL.
Gute misjudged the OL creating a "glass wall"
Sorry but I don't feel comfortable with these moves.
They're a step back.
We lost good players!

Hargrave? He’s got both pass rush and run D. Knows Gannon/system and won a ring together in PHI. There’s nothing to not like about this signing.

Mentorship is a thing.

Can’t help but think Micah Parsons had his voice heard regarding both the Gary release and the Brenton Cox Jr. re-signing. Parsons knows the quality of players he wants to line up with. Hargrave likely got a nod from Parsons as well. Just a thought connecting dots.

Gimme quality veteran leadership all day. “Youngest team in the NFL,” year after year won ZERO rings.

Gutekunst finally course corrected towards a balanced roster.

1. Gary--absolutely. When everyone knows you're unhappy with a player (and his contract) and you're about to let him go, it's a boon to get something for him. He's already taken a pay cut--albeit a small one--from Jerrah. Which takes us to Jenkins--who doesn't play a premium position--where everyone knew he was getting cut, so team(s) were ready when he was finally available. Nobody was offering anything to have to take on his deal.

2. Franklin--I'm higher on this trade than others. The Packers clearly weren't happy to offer Q what he wanted, so they dealt a guy they were done with (Wooden) for a vet who could play under a familiar eye. People pee on his age, but he's only got four full seasons of snaps as a starter (and four seasons of extensive STs play), so the hope is that--for two years--he's still got the legs. High effort, high character, team leader, VOCAL leader--which this team needs. He's not the athlete Q was, but has better instincts and is more likely to be where he's supposed to be. That's what just about every defense is predicated on. This puts every LB in GB within 2 years of finishing their deal, so they need a draft pick here.

6. Hargrave--Wyatt seems to get dinged every year. He'll play hurt, but his recovery and effectiveness afterward makes him a much lesser guy. When he got hurt last year, things really backslid for this defense. It's not so much pairing Hargrave with Wyatt that I like, but having someone who can still bring it in the middle when Wyatt gets dinged that makes a difference. The Packers likely draft a DL, and they like to rotate their IDL, so I don't worry about his snap share being too much.

9. Moore--I'd ask us all to temper our expectations. He has one year as a returner, and he flashed. It's encouraging that the only units in SF's special teams rankings that did well were the return units--whether they held up Moore or Moore propped them up remains to be seen. I'd have rather had Duvernay, who signed for similar money and has a longer track record as a returner and of being able to play some WR.

10. Kinnard gives the Packers ONE OL past their top 5 who they know can play...so at this point they can gimp through one player on the OL missing meaningful time....ONE. There are some unknowns: John Williams never got off IR last year, Glover apparently looked good in camp before getting hurt, and Brant Banks was poached off the PS--promptly brought back--and had an elevation or two. This unit is woefully thin--as you'd expect when two of your top 5 OL from '25 leave--and there's a lot of work to be done here.

I mostly like the moves made, but they are mostly bridging moves to allow us to move on for cap, age and not living up to draft/FA status. Overall, Gute has done a pretty good job of finding ways to plausibly refill departures at lower cost and with mostly effectively team options not future cap heavy deals.

That includes belatedly addressing the Clark trade (or more accurately perhaps moving on from the bizarre belief that Wooden was a plausible replacement). Are we better? Not really, though if the one year option on Hargrave works out, then arguably we are in terms of interior pass rush potential and he’s better against the run than all but Wyatt of the 3Ts.

Sky Moore for me has no logic as a WR absent a trade of Reed (or injuries). He’s Hardman. Like you, AL, the only way I see him retained is if LaFleur has had a dramatic change of heart on the value of a punt returner and thus is willing to deactivate another position on game day. I don’t see that as very likely (though I’d like it).

I’m open to seeing what Donovan Jennings is. I thought they might not bring him back, but there was some small buzz around his progress late (before he got hit in the throat) in the season. My OL “from-the-depths” hope is LT Brant Banks, as an aside. I also note that we have an “extra” draft pick in John Williams (G) and Dalton Cooper is a player I was very surprised we could pick up on the PS last year (he’s listed as a T, but I see him as a better G prospect). Both are essentially sight unseen for me though.

This year I think we see Melton actually play CB. He showed he can cover last summer. A quarters type D is much more likely to suit him than the Hafley one and he remains a core STer. I’m also of the view that Jamon Johnson came a long way last year in coverage and could be a force in the run game as LB depth. It’s going to be a good fight behind Cooper and Franklin. I think Johnson could offer more than McDuffie, particularly now we have a new veteran presence in Franklin.

As to TE and actually RB3, I wish we had either a true FB or a true blocking TE (I’d like both) not the “ok-but-not-great-at-anything” back up TEs that are only ever used to block (and not well). That extends to RB. Nothing wrong with Brooks; he’s excellent in pass protection, but he’s not a good lead blocker. Give me a Henderson type any day (and they’d likely get just as many overall yards as well).

Ultimately, Gute has held ground quite well and increased his flexibility in the draft. He now needs to have a good draft that helps elevate us despite the lack of a first. We aren’t materially better, but we’ve shed cap and not obviously got worse. That’s not easy to accomplish.

However, the real opportunities to improve from who we have currently seem to me to depend on LaFleur changing his attitude to roles like returner, lead blocker and TE. I’m not particularly confident in LaFleur’s willingness to evolve, unfortunately. Without that we will again miss opportunities to get the best final roster and the most from it. Obviously we also need to be far more astute in our handling of the OL too. We can’t waste both the summer and half a season trying to force Ts to be Gs and vice versa, whether that’s Morgan (T), Belton (G), Glover (T) or whomever.

Thanks Al. I was thinking our new guys saw pictures of the Lambeau blizzard and said 'oh no I'm not going there, get my agent on the phone rat now' 'where the hell is this place Siberia? 'Doesn't Miami need help?'

Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture to proclaim any derealizations, and it's too soon to say we like our guys, but imho these moves made us a better. That's enough for now. GPG

grade D everywhere, and at the bottom end of the NFL, 31 or 32.
this is the reality.

The most significant thing for me this off season is the Packers are realizing they can't keep paying the kind of money they have. If you look at the contracts of Love, Parsons, etc. this team is very top heavy dollarwise. Those players are paid like that to perform but it leaves little room to hire more players on the depth chart.

For Green Bay the future is now. They have to take the talent they have, a few draft picks, and go for the gusto. Otherwise, it's back to the 70's.

The trade of Gary for something of real value is a minor miracle and Jerry Jones is already being crucified for it. Giving up a 4th round pick is outragous for a player everyone knew was going to be cut. I'll bet everyone in the Packers FO wanted to strangle Gary after that post he made. If Gutey had been able to trade Jenkins for something they would have erected a statue of him in front of Lambeau. The Gary trade gives him 5 passes.

Resigning Rhyan was really a no choice transaction. There are never many center options and teams were losing them every day for a while there. I have hope Rhyan will improve this year given the opportunity to play the position all year. If not he is basically on a 1year contract. Maybe we can trade back, gain a couple picks and draft a center of the future. I like Slaughter, Zuhn, or Coogan.

Franklin will be better than Quay. Yes, neither is great in pass cover, but Franklin is a true professional and will be very motivated to lead the defense. He, like Hargrave is a solid bridge until we get something better. And he has way more tackles than Quay over the last 4 years.

I am higher on Moore than most posters here. No, he probably isn't an All-Pro in waiting, but what he does bring is fix of 1 part of our special teams debacle. And since the word potential is so important to all pro teams, Moore has untapped potential as a WR. He was a damn good one, Top 10 in 2022, and maybe we can unlock that ability again. Love would be thrilled to throw to someone other than Kraft who rarely drops a pass, which was a big reason KC drafted Moore, along with 4.4 speed, ability to get open, the KR ability.

St Juste is a solid start to rebuilding our CB room. Another young, cheap, player with starting experience would be great too. Or else we draft 2 CBs before the 5th round.

Whyle is better than Musgrave. not quite as fast, but I will bet if given a chance won't fall down when a defender blows on him. He is also a better blocker. I think Musgrave is trade bait along with Wickes right now.

Cox should have a much bigger role now and if he stays healthy will have a better year than Gary had last year. I would still like GB to "Get off the Pot' and just sign Clowney or Epenesa to fill the hole @ Edge caused by losing Enagbare & Gary. Do it now before we lose 2 great opportunities.

Thanks Al, nice article. And thanks to the posters for some positive comments and analysis overall. I think we’ve helped ourselves, and I expect more moves before camp. GPG

A constructive workmanlike off-season for Gutekunst thus far - in order to keep the road to the SB open for another 1-3 years. On the To Do list is still a one-gap DT and another boundary CB. It's probably best to address these needs with free agents - as the Draft cannot ensure immediate Year 1 contributions. However, so far so good.

2) Franklin: Here's a place where we needed the maturity and the leadership. I hope he can improve on his pass coverage, but how much worse can he be than Quay sometimes?

3) Okay, we had to sign Rhyan, but I'm still hoping to draft a center that's as close to NFL ready as possible. It's an important position, and there are a couple of them out there (at least that's what the scouting reports say) if we're in the right spot at the right time. Look to now and look to the future here.

6) Hargrave provides more leadership and experience. If he stays healthy, this signing will move up in the rankings. We were never going to be in the market for Franklin-Myers, anyway, so this is a good alternative.

14) Welch: The Packers favorite revolving door player...I wish they would make up their mind one way or the other and keep him out of constant flux. Maybe this is the season they really commit to special teams with an actual KR and two dedicated special teams LBs.

Emmanuel Wilson: I'd say Seattle got a good deal here for a proven reserve.

I agee with your ranking of the moves and
I'd like to see us stack a few more.

1000% agree on Wilson--my biggest WTF / 🤷‍♂️ of the offseason in the roster retention department. Like Willis, Wilson crushed the opportunities given to him. If Lloyd manages to be on the field w/o crutches or sans a cart taxi during a personal 7 year, will Gute feel vindicated not having wasted (another) 3rd round pick? Schneider saw Wilson's value and quickly snapped him up.

Not resigning Wilson just leaves a hole that needs to be filled. Even without Lloyd I thought GB had 3 solid RBs they could depend on. I personally would have kept Wilson and subtracted Brooks if a choice had to be made . But for as cheap as Seattle got Wilson for, that was a no brainer.

So now we either promote 1 of the practice squad backs, I do really like Pierre Strong because he is fast, has good hands, and a good runner, or we pay out more money to sign 1. If that's the plan then why didn't we just re sign Wilson. I have floated the idea of signing Antonio Gibson who probably isn't better than Wilson either.

Marshawn Lloyd is on his last chance to be a Packer. It's get on the field & stay there or goodbye.

I've never figured out the Kristian Welch thing.
A couple years ago when, I can't remember who was injured, Welch played a couple games where he seemed to be everywhere and was the darling of the broadcast team in those games, he WAS everywhere, and they couldn't stop telling us! From those games, I was a bit surprised to see him let go, and brought back only to be let go, again, and again.
He's also played well on special teams and has always been a strong if not major contributor there.
Maybe I'm senile, or maybe I'm just bucking for the 'Home town kid make's good' ending, but to me he seemed like one of those guys who Ron Wolf loved to say "he's a football player!"

I hope Franklin is only a partial "De'Vondre Campbell situation".

His exit from the Packers and from football was a bad situation. He was suspended by the Niners after he refused to take the field after having been moved to a back up role. Campbell actually left the field after told to take over after an injury at LB and instead stormed to the locker room. Head case.

Not exactly a list of "electric" moves, . I'm glad they moved on from and got something for Gary. I'm also glad Rhyan is back, but not for that much. I think they flat out blew it with Emanuel Wilson. What else did they want from him? Lloyd is nothing but a myth right now. Like the Buffalo Bills winning a Super Bowl, I'll believe Lloyd can play RB when I see it. Oh well...

"Josh Whyle back - Whyle is no Luke Musgrave athletically, but I think he can match Musgrave and possibly surpass him in terms of his overall game day contributions."

Is this a joke? Musgrave has shown hes about as athletic as a tooth brush.