Gridiron Heroics
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • Richard Sherman Sounds Off On Lamar Jackson Contract Situation; Blames Patrick Mahomes
    • San Francisco 49ers: This QB Could Be An “Under-The-Radar” Trade Candidate
    • Pittsburgh Steelers Sign Veteran Offensive Lineman
    • Detroit Lions Re-Sign Veteran Quarterback
    • Jack Tuttle Explains Why He Transferred To The Michigan Wolverines For 2023
    • Philadelphia Eagles Extend Star Offensive Lineman
    • Kurt Benkert Joins the San Antonio Brahmas
    • Tom Brady’s Son Has Dreams Of Attending Michigan
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Writers
    • Write for Gridiron Heroics
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Gridiron Heroics
    JOIN OUR FB GROUP
    Gridiron Heroics
    Home»NFL»Green Bay Packers»4 Unrestricted Free Agents That The Packers Should Absolutely Re-Sign
    Green Bay Packers

    4 Unrestricted Free Agents That The Packers Should Absolutely Re-Sign

    Stephen MentiBy Stephen MentiFebruary 1, 2023No Comments5 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    5 unrestricted free agents
    Photo by Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    What Are Unrestricted Free Agents?

    According to NFL.com, unrestricted free agents are any players with four or more accrued seasons and an expired contract. They are free to negotiate with any team. Restricted free agents are players with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. They are also free to negotiate with any team but their original team can make “various qualifying offers (“tenders”) that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation.”

    Cap Issues

    The Packers head into the 2023 off-season with questions on what they should do with their cap and their unrestricted free agents. Currently, the Packers have $-25,052,478 in cap space. Some magic needs to happen; the top five highest-paid players on the roster (Rodgers, Bakhtiari, Clark, Alexander, and Jones) account for 55% of the cap space.

    Rodgers and Bakhtiari, the top two paid players in Green Bay, account for 26.69% of the cap space and will need to restructure their contracts if they wish to remain on the team. Clark’s and Alexander’s contract bonuses are due soon and restructuring those will save a lot of space. Jones is a trade candidate, seeing as he is 28 years old and the Packers have AJ Dillon on his rookie contract. If anything is to be done with the unrestricted free agents, something needs to be done about these players’ contracts.

    A few unrestricted free agents that are fan favorites may not return in 2023. Mason Crosby had one of his best years, but only made one kick over 50 yards. Allen Lazard is a beast blocker but may be too expensive. Dean Lowry is an ironman who hasn’t missed a game in three seasons but was placed on IR at the end of 2022. Randall Cobb is the only Packers receiver besides Lazard to play multiple seasons with Rodgers, but he is getting old. It will be hard to see these players leave, but the Packers will still (hopefully) try to hang onto a few of their unrestricted free agents.

    The Unrestricted Free Agents (2023 salaries in millions)

    • Adrian Amos FS 29.8 $9.0
    • Randall Cobb WR 32.4 $9.0
    • Dean Lowry DE 28.6 $6.775
    • Mason Crosby K 38.3 $4.3
    • Allen Lazard WR 27.1 $3.986
    • Robert Tonyan Jr TE 28.8 $3.75
    • Jarran Reed DE 30.1 $3.25
    • Marcedes Lewis TE 38.7 $2.96
    • Dallin Leavitt S 28.4 $1.2
    • Rudy Ford S 27.2 $1.137
    • Eric Wilson OLB 28.3 $1.035
    • Keisean Nixon CB 25.6 $.965
    • Justin Hollins OLB 27 .706
    • Yosh Nijman T 26.9 .54

    4 Unrestricted Free Agents That The Packers Should Absolutely Re-Sign

    4. Rudy Ford, FS, 28 years old

    QACGORIRCZAELFSPSNPQ4I452Y
    Green Bay Packers Safety Rudy Ford (20) tackles Rhamondre Stevenson (38) – Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/AP Photo

    Rudy Ford signed with the Packers in the 2022 off-season as a special teamer on a one-year deal. Ford, along with coach Bisaccia, KR Keisean Nixon, and P Pat O’Donnell, helped turn the Packers’ special teams unit around from last in the league in 2021 to 22nd in 2022. The gunner also filled in admirably for Adrian Amos when the latter was injured against the Patriots. He is one of the league’s fastest and most skilled gunners, reaching 22 MPH twice in 2020. Special teams unrestricted free agents usually don’t demand a large salary (an average of $2.775 million) so the Packers could probably afford him.

    3. Marcedes Lewis, TE, 38 years old

    download
    Green Bay Packers Tight End Marcedes Lewis – Photo by AP Photo/Brett Duke

    Big Dog will be entering his 18th season in 2023, setting the record for most seasons played by a tight end. Lewis is important in the run game where he is primarily used as a blocker for the Packers’ offense. If the Packers don’t resign Lewis or Tonyan, that would leave Josiah Deguara as the team’s only tight end. The Packers will need to draft a tight end in 2023, and the 38-year-old Lewis’ veteran presence will be key in developing the young talent. His last three contracts with the Packers were in the  $2.1 – $2.25 million range, so expect about the same if he resigns in 2023.

    2. Yosh Nijman, T, 26 years old

    1423184481.0
    Green Bay Packers Tackle Yosh Nijman – Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

    The Green Bay Packers offensive line was an ever-changing unit at the beginning of the 2022 season. Yosh Nijman is one of the constants on the offensive line where he started 13 games with 756 snaps in 2022. On those snaps, Nijman committed six penalties and allowed four sacks. David Bakhtiari’s time with the Packers is coming to an end soon and the Packers will need a veteran on the line to replace him. Spotrac.com calculates that his market value going forward is $3.2 million per year, which isn’t so bad for an offensive tackle. Nijman is one of the unrestricted free agents that Green Bay cannot allow to walk this off-season.

    1. Keisean Nixon, CB/KR, 25 years old

    USATSI 19358192 168390100 lowres
    Green Bay Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon – Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports

    Keisean Nixon is a priority re-signing for the Packers’ unrestricted free agents. Nixon was 2022’s PFWA All-NFL team kick returner. An absolute game changer, Nixon turned a position that was a liability for the Packers into an asset. Finishing 2022 with 1,009 return yards and a touchdown, he had eight games in a row where he eclipsed 100 return yards. In this writer’s humble opinion, I believe that the Packers need to do whatever they can to retain Nixon. This article hypothesizes that Nixon will earn around $3.45 million per year if resigned.

    Related

    For More Great Football Content

    Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

    Checkout our latest podcast!

    [powerpress_playlist limit=1]
    Green Bay Packers Keisean Nixon Marcedes Lewis Rudy Ford unrestricted free agents Yosh Nijman
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Stephen Menti
    • Twitter

    Cheesehead, Mini Schnauzer Dad, Fantasy Football Degenerate, Destroyer of Buffalo Wings. Follow me on Twitter @stephen_menti

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    NFL

    Richard Sherman Sounds Off On Lamar Jackson Contract Situation; Blames Patrick Mahomes

    By Matthew BrownMarch 25, 20230
    NFL

    San Francisco 49ers: This QB Could Be An “Under-The-Radar” Trade Candidate

    By Matthew BrownMarch 25, 20230
    AFC East

    Pittsburgh Steelers Sign Veteran Offensive Lineman

    By Jordan SiglerMarch 24, 20230
    Detroit Lions

    Detroit Lions Re-Sign Veteran Quarterback

    By Matthew BrownMarch 24, 20230
    FOLLOW US
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    READ MORE
    2022 college football season 2022 Fantasy Football 2022 NFL season Baltimore Ravens Big Ten Browns Buffalo Bills BYU BYU Cougars BYU Defense BYU football BYU Offense Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns College Football Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Fantasy Football Football Green Bay Packers Jalen Hurts Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers LSU Tigers Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets NFL Ohio State Buckeyes Patrick Mahomes Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks SEC Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady Washington Commanders
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.