Kicker Mason Crosby’s new contract is a four-year deal worth $16.1 million, but the first year cap number is most telling and suggests the Green Bay Packers might actually make some significant moves this offseason.
Crosby will actually pocket $6.15 million in 2016, thanks largely to his $5 million signing bonus. However, that signing bonus is prorated over the length of his contract for salary cap purposes.
Crosby’s actual salary cap number for 2016 is just $2.4 million.
That’s notable because the Packers usually front load player contracts when they sign a new deal. Not doing so with Crosby’s deal — and not having any other notable in-house free agents to take care of — suggests the Packers plan on spending more money on someone else this year.
The Packers currently have around $19 million in cap space, which ranks them 20th in the NFL. Four teams have more than $50 million in cap space, led by Jacksonville’s $83 million.
While the Packers aren’t flush with salary cap space like some teams, they do have some money they could spend.
Could that be an outside free agent or two?
Coach Mike McCarthy suggested the Packers may surprise on that front this year, although we’ll believe it when we see it.
They could also be looking at extending someone from their 2017 free agent class, this year.
That class will be heavy on offensive linemen, including left tackle David Bakhtiari and guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang. It will also include running back Eddie Lacy.
Finally, the Packers could roll a large unused portion of the salary cap over to next year. Any amount that goes unused in one year’s salary cap gets added to the next year’s.
The Packers rolled over a little more than $6 million from last year to this year’s cap.
They’ll likely save some for 2017, but not more than $15 million.
So where does that money go?
Um, draft class? That will cost between 5-6 million
What if we risk to have to make adjustments in 2017 and at worst lose one of “our guys”, but to give us a DECENT chance THIS year to go beyond one and done?
Teams may be elite for one or two years (and I mean truly elite, not just “but we make the playoffs every year, durrr”). After that, they cannot afford everyone and the team disperses. So, even if our 2017 were to be a little rough, wouldn’t you still take it knowing that the team was at least a serious contender or champion in 2016? And what does it take for us to be a serious contender? A few proven vets, ILB and TE. And that does not even have to be too splashy, like Revis’ stint with the Patriots. Moreover, skip the ILB, sign one of the available TEs (which by the way is a position where rookies cannot have impact).
Even if we peaked in 2016 and dipped in 2017, that still is not going to be 49er like.
So that`s the reason Lacy is getting in shape. I`ll bet he goes back to his fat ass 270 pds in 2017 right after he get`s his knew contract. He`s there for the love of money, not the love of the game. He was drafted so teams would not kept two safeties deep on Rodgers. Find a replacement and save the money. I`m tired of watching his fat ass tiptoe behind the o-line like a 185 pd running back.