Can I interest you in some DK Metcalf or Deebo Samuel?
After a playoff loss, fans want to fire everyone. The reality of the situation, though, is that 31 of 32 teams don’t get to hold that Lombardi Trophy up at the end of the season.
With that in mind, it’s always good to get an outside perspective on what non-biased parties believe the Green Bay Packers might do in the offseason. Recently, Over the Cap published 100 possible cap casualties on their website with the following criteria:
Are due a minimum of $3.75 million in cash for 2024.
Have a negative contract fate greater than 50%.
Are within the top 100 in players with the worst OTC valuation above median starter, which is defined in OTC’s explainer of the valuation diamond.
The only Packer to make the list? That’s right. You guessed it. Cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Despite making the list, though, Alexander has a relatively low chance of a “negative fate” this offseason. At 57.5 percent, he’s near the bottom of the list. For perspective, he’s in between mid-career edge defenders like Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby (53.8 percent) and Los Angeles’ Joey Bosa (59.6 percent).
As we’ve written about before here at APC, it’s highly unlikely that Alexander will play out on a $16.15 million base salary in 2025. The big questions, whether Alexander would be willing to take a contract restructure to stay in Green Bay or what that figure looks like, have yet to be answered, though. Unfortunately, that’s the real crux of the situation, and it’s unlikely that we’ll get clarity on the subject before March.
Two interesting names who appear on OTC’s list of possible cap casualties are receivers DK Metcalf and Deebo Samuel, who Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst stated in his end-of-the-season press conference were in contention to be selected with the pick that Green Bay spent on guard Elgton Jenkins in 2019. Keep an eye on their situations.
Maybe the Packers can get them on the cheap if they’re allowed to hit the open market. Samuel is a great ball-in-hand player who could run the gadget plays that head coach Matt LaFleur has been force-feeding to slot receiver Jayden Reed over the past couple of seasons. Meanwhile, Metcalf is a field stretcher who would surely help the Packers, who are going to be down speedster Christian Watson for at least three-quarters of the 2025 regular season.