One trade, cut and signing the Packers should make

The Green Bay Packers surpassed expectations in 2023, coming excruciatingly close to reaching the NFC Championship Game. With the franchise's rebuild ahead of schedule, this offseason becomes more pivotal than many would have believed only a year ago. 

With that in mind, here's one trade, cut and signing the Packers should make. 

TRADE: Move back in the first round 

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst isn't opposed to moving up in the first round of the NFL Draft, as he did for safety Darnell Savage (2019) and quarterback Jordan Love (2020). However, due to the steep price, trading back is far more likely if Green Bay doesn't stay put at No. 25. 

Only the Arizona Cardinals (six) have more top-100 selections in this year's draft than the Packers (five), which might also make the team more inclined to move back a couple of slots to acquire another pick. Furthermore, this year's draft is extremely deep at cornerback and offensive tackle -- two positions of need for Green Bay.

Barring Iowa CB Cooper DeJean or Georgia T Amarius Mims falling in the Packers' lap, trading down seems like a sound move. 

There are several players they could target later in the first or second round, like corners Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Missouri) and Kamari Lassiter (Georgia) and tackles Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma) and Jordan Morgan (Arizona). 

CUT: OT David Bakhtiari 

Cutting the two-time All-Pro seems too obvious not to pick, as the injury-plagued 32-year-old counts for $40M of the Packers salary cap in 2024. 

Bakhtiari hasn't been the same player since suffering an ACL tear during the 2020 season. Since then, he's undergone five knee surgeries and played in only 13 games while missing all but one contest during the 2021 and 2023 campaigns. 

Unless he's willing to return on a restructured deal, this is likely the end of the road for Bakhtiari in Green Bay, if only because it makes too much sense. The Packers can no longer rely on the 11-year veteran, and the $20M in cap savings the team would receive by releasing him far outweighs the risk of bringing him back. 

SIGNING: Safety Xavier McKinney 

Scooping up the versatile safety in free agency would fill another big hole and instantly upgrade the Packers' porous secondary. 

McKinney is coming off a standout season with the New York Giants, finishing the season as the fourth-highest-graded safety (87.8), per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, among safeties that played at least 50 percent of their team's snaps in 2023, he finished with the lowest missed tackle percentage (5.7). 

The Packers are up against it, salary cap-wise, which could make fitting McKinney in a little more challenging. According to Over The Cap, the Packers have $8.1M in cap space, the third lowest among teams still in the black. However, cutting Bakhtiari and other roster tweaks ahead of free agency should give Green Bay enough wiggle room.