Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari are mentioned among cut candidates
After years being among the highest spenders in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are on track to clean their salary cap situation. This season, they are 31st in cash spending, and the situation for 2024 looks much better. They have $23.7 million in projected cap space for next season. That's not a high number, […]
After years being among the highest spenders in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are on track to clean their salary cap situation. This season, they are 31st in cash spending, and the situation for 2024 looks much better.
They have $23.7 million in projected cap space for next season. That's not a high number, considering how many moves are yet to be made, but it's a relatively comfortable situation — the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and Miami Dolphins are all over $20 million in negative space, for instance.
But considering the team's timeline, it's possible that general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice-president/director of football operations Russ Ball decide to be cautious another year. If that's the case, Green Bay could move on from veterans to open up space.
And, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, running back Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari are offseason cut candidates.
"The Packers are middle-of-the-pack in projected 2024 cap space, but Jones turns 29 in December and is having trouble staying on the field this season with a hamstring injury. We know the Packers were poking around on Jonathan Taylor when he made his offseason trade demand, too.
Jones will have one year left after this season on a deal he had to rework this past offseason to avoid being cut. The Packers would save $11.45 million next year in cap space if they made him a post-June 1 cut.
David Bakhtiari is the most obvious cap-saving move for Green Bay, but his circumstances are different and well-publicized. Moving on from Jones would be a future-focused decision and one more piece of evidence that it's tough for a running back in these salary cap streets."
Let's analyze each situation.
Aaron Jones
While it's true that the Packers would save $11.45 million cutting Jones as a post-June 1st, it doesn't make much sense, because that would leave dead money for 2025 as well. Considering the idea was going to be cleaning the salary cap, it would be better to trade him or release him without any designation. In this scenario, the Packers would open $5.3 million in 2024, but there wouldn't be any hit left.
However, Jones is still an important piece of the offense — especially because fellow running back AJ Dillon is not under contract for next year.
Jones took a $5 million paycut last offseason to stay, and he's slated to make $12 million next year. Maybe, the Packers and the player's representatives are able to find a solution to keep him in Green Bay once again, at least as a short-term move.
If the Packers really move on from Aaron Jones, they will have to find a replacement anyway — maybe it's a higher draft pick, a free agent option, or the Packers decide that running backs are in fact easily replaceable, going with Emanuel Wilson or another cheap option.
David Bakhtiari
The left tackle's situation is way more complicated. He's injured again, still suffering from the 2020 ACL and its consequences. The Packers have touched his contract multiple times since the extension right before the injury in 2020 to create cap space, so his 2024 hit is $40.46 million. He's slated to make $21.4 million.
It would absolutely make sense to trade or cut him. The trade is theoretically viable, but it's hard to find a trade partner willing to take his deal and give up draft compensation — unless the New York Jets are motivated to make something happen to appease Aaron Rodgers.
A release would be much more complicated. The Packers can't realistically cut Bakhtiari before he passes a physical, or he can get the entire salary anyway, as independent cap analyst Ken Ingalls explained.
Bakhtiari and Jones are two of the most important players on the Packers offense. Ideally, they could find a way to keep them, and hope that both would be healthy in 2024. But the financial considerations are a big part of the equation, and the next offseason will be intriguing in that regard.
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