Packers Have Ample Salary-Cap Space for NFL Free Agency, But …

The good news is the Green Bay Packers entered NFL free agency with almost $40 million of salary-cap space.

The bad news is almost half the NFL had more to chase a weak group of free agents.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Packers opened Monday with $39,715,547 of effective cap space, a figure that includes the money required to sign the draft class. That was the 15th-most money.

Making matters worse, the Packers have considerably less cap space than the Minnesota Vikings ($58.93 million) and Detroit Lions ($49.54 million). Plus, they had less money than the Chicago Bears until the Bears beefed up the offensive line by trading for Joe Thuney, a first-team All-Pro the last two seasons, and signing Jonah Jackson, a former Pro Bowler who was available before free agency.

No team had more money than the New England Patriots, who opened the day with almost $114 million of space. They immediately went on the offensive – well, the defensive – with defensive tackle Milton Williams, linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Carlton Davis along with offensive tackle Morgan Moses.

Here were the top 10 teams in cap space before any of Monday’s transactions, according to OverTheCap.com.

New England Patriots: $114.0 million.

Los Angeles Chargers: $85.6 million.

Arizona Cardinals: $73.6 million.

Washington Commanders: $69.6 million.

Seattle Seahawks: $63.3 million.

Minnesota Vikings: $58.9 million.

Pittsburgh Steelers: $56.6 million.

Jacksonville Jaguars: $53.3 million.

Tennessee Titans: $51.7 million.

Detroit Lions: $50.0 million.

While the Patriots, Chargers (re-signed edge rusher Khalil Mack), Cardinals (came to terms with edge rusher Josh Sweat), Commanders (came to terms with defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw), Seahawks (came to terms with quarterback Sam Darnold), Vikings (came to terms with cornerback Isaiah Rodgers), Steelers (came to terms with cornerback Darius Slay), Jaguars (came to terms with cornerback Jourdan Lewis, offensive lineman Patrick Mekari and receiver Dyami Brown), Titans (came to terms with left tackle Dan Moore), Lions (came to terms with cornerback D.J. Reed) and Bears (came to terms with center Drew Dalman, edge defender Dayo Odeyingbo and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett) made early splashes, the Packers were quiet at the start of free agency.

“We have a lot of flexibility right now, not only through the draft but with our cap situation,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “So, if the opportunities are there and the right players are there, we won’t hesitate to be aggressive.”

The Packers have multiple paths to create more cap space. One is moving on from Jaire Alexander, which would create $6.84 million (or $17.08 million if designated a June 1 release). Gutekunst held onto Alexander at the start of training camp in hopes of making a trade. While Green Bay bided its time, Alexander was not available to the rest of the league as a handful of top corners agreed to contracts at the start of free agency.

Plus, Gutekunst and his right-hand man, Russ Ball, could turn start-of-year roster bonuses into signing bonuses, which would create immediate cap space at the expense of larger future cap charges. Rashan Gary ($8.7 million), Xavier McKinney ($8.5 million), Kenny Clark ($7.5 million) and Josh Jacobs ($5.93 million) are the big ones.

Or, with an eye toward 2026, the Packers could take a conservative approach, not overpay for free agents and not restructure contracts. Unlike this year, next year will feature a bumper crop of free agents, including starting offensive tackles Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker, receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and perhaps first-round picks Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt.

Plus, because of sharply increasing cap charges for quarterback Jordan Love ($29.7 million in 2025 to $36.2 million in 2026), Gary ($25.7 million to $28.0 million), left guard Elgton Jenkins ($17.6 million to $24.8 million) and Jacobs ($11.3 million to $14.6 million), only eight teams have less cap space for 2026.

“We’ve sacrificed a little bit to get to this point in past years,” Gutekunst said. “We feel really good about our flexibility and where we’re at. Obviously, Russ does a great job, and we feel really confident, not only this year but how that affects next year and some of the contracts we have to do. I think we feel really good about being able to do what we want to do over the next two years to put a championship-level team out there.”