As was the case last offseason, the Green Bay Packers are planning on restructuring a number of veteran contracts over the next few months.
General manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president Russ Ball got started Wednesday by restructuring the contract of defensive lineman Kenny Clark, but the two-time Pro Bowler won’t be the last.
“We did, we touched Kenny’s contract, and there will be many more that we touch along the way,” Gutekunst said Wednesday. “A lot of it will be as we go, and what we need when we need it, so to speak.”
Last year, the Packers restructured every possible veteran contract to get under the salary cap and create operating room during the season. A similar plan appears to be starting to open this offseason.
The Packers entered the offseason needing to shed over $50 million of cap commitments before the start of the new league year on March 16. The number will rise by over $20 million if the team uses the franchise tag on receiver Davante Adams.
Restructuring deals is one way to avoid gutting the roster while helping the cap situation.
Contracts capable of being restructured to save money on the salary cap in 2022 include David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, Billy Turner, Dean Lowry, Mason Crosby and Marcedes Lewis. The team could also do extensions for players such as Smith, Jaire Alexander, Za’Darius Smith and Randall Cobb to create cap space.
The Packers must also find a way to lower the cap number of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is still making a decision on his football future. An extension could lower his number by $15 million or more.
The team is juggling a lot of financial puzzle pieces, but restructures should help make the individual pieces less jagged and easier to put together this year.
Most of the restructures will include converting base salary and roster bonuses to a signing bonus and adding void years to spread out the cap hit over several years. It’s a useful way of pushing money into the future to help the cap now.
The contract of Clark, an elite player who is still only 26 years old, was a logical place to start. His restructure saved the Packers almost $11 million on the cap.
“Kenny being an anchor and pillar of our defense, that was an easy one to start out,” Gutekunst said.
If the Packers truly want to stay all-in around Rodgers in 2022, an avalanche of restructures is coming.
