Packers could benefit most from veteran addition at premium position, but NFL salary rules complicate potential move
Green Bay has a strong all-around roster, but there are still obvious avenues for improvement ahead of a pivotal regular season.
The first wave of free agency and the draft are now long gone. Teams are revising their roster and getting ready for the offseason programs and training camp. So, let’s take this time and check how the Green Bay Packers are and what they can still do to make the team better heading into the 2026 season.
To me, it’s clearly edge defender. It’s hard to add to that position now because they have Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, Brenton Cox, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Arron Mosby, and IPP player Dante Barnett. But without Parsons, the roster would obviously benefit from some early production — and it’s hard to know if the young players will deliver. Guys like Joey Bosa and A. J. Epenesa immediately come to mind.
The problem with this approach is that if a vested veteran is on the roster in Week 1, his base salary gets fully guaranteed for the entire year. So you either get a player who will actually help you throughout the season, or you just wait with the young players you currently have.
While I expect defensive tackle Chris McClellan to have a bigger immediate impact, I’m going with the easy answer here: Brandon Cisse. The second-round cornerback has undoubtedly the highest potential among the group. Cisse is a toolsy player who’s still very Young (he’s not even 21 yet).
Cisse is an explosive athlete and has the necessary speed to succeed at his position. Now, it’s a matter of how much the rookie develops in route recognition, because NFL wide receivers won’t allow him to recover as easily as he did in college. Also, to become a Hall of Famer, Cisse will have to generate more big plays — he only had two interceptions throughout his college career.
The cornerback room, pretty much so. The Packers signed Benjamin St-Juste and drafted two players in Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson. That means there’s not much room for more additions, unless someone else gets cut. In regards to the running back room, I wrote earlier this week that the Packers don’t seem overly concerned about it, at least publicly.
I would think the Packers are more open to a veteran addition there, though, if their young guys don’t perform well in training camp or if MarShawn Lloyd gets hurt again. That being said, there aren’t many good options available. Considering age, the best options are probably Antonio Gibson, but he’s coming back from a major knee injury, and Khalil Herbert.
It’s a good balance, but it’s pretty much what the Packers have done under Brian Gutekunst. I know he talks about drafting the best available player, but he heavily weights positional needs to reach those conclusions. So it’s not a surprise that he addressed the team’s biggest needs throughout the process. That’s the immediate impact part.
However, in terms of the players themselves, the Packers usually have a longer-term approach. As I mentioned in the previous question, Brandon Cisse is pretty young and raw. Chris McClellan and Dani Dennis-Sutton might have more impact throughout their rookie contracts, but it’s hard to project a massive role in Year 1 as well. So, I’d say it’s a combination of both factors following Green Bay’s usual process.
For Lloyd, I don’t think we can expect much from him now. Not only because he may get hurt again, but because the sequence of injuries might have affected his overall athleticism.
As for potential trades, I wouldn’t expect more moves before the final cuts. Brenton Cox might even be a starter over Barryn Sorrell to begin the season while Micah Parsons is out, we don’t know. And Luke Musgrave is the best backup tight end on the roster despite his blocking limitations.
The Packers have 11 picks, there’s no need to give up an impactful piece of the roster for a Day 3 pick. It’s always possible that something materializes right before the regular season, but those are usually small deals.