New Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Jarran Reed will have a cap number under $2 million in 2022 thanks to the use of void years within his deal.
According to Bill Huber of SI.com, the Packers tacked on four void years to Reed’s one-year deal, allowing the team to prorate his nearly $1.9 million signing bonus across five years of the salary cap. Reed’s cap number in 2022 will be just $1,758,000.
The one-year deal has a base salary of just $1,035,000, or the league minimum for a player with six accrued seasons.
The Packers are hoping incentives involving playtime and sacks will help maximize production from Reed, who has 24.5 career sacks in six seasons and played almost 1,600 defensive snaps over the last two seasons. He had just 2.5 sacks for the Chiefs while playing on a one-year deal last season.
Reed’s best season came in 2018 when he produced 10.5 sacks and 50 pressures for the Seattle Seahawks. He’d be one of the NFL’s great bargains in 2022 if he can produce similar numbers for the Packers on a cap charge under $2 million this season.
Even if he doesn’t produce big numbers, Reed should provide a cheap but experienced lineman to play important snaps next to Kenny Clark and Dean Lory along the defensive line.
The Packers continue to use the cap dollars afforded by trading away Davante Adams. Reed, cornerback Rasul Douglas and tight end Robert Tonyan will account for roughly $8 million in cap space in 2022. The team used void years with both Tonyan and Reed.