The Green Bay Packers are about to enter cutting season and the front office’s ax is already sharp.
Tom Silverstein of the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel reported on Sunday, March 10 that the team will release linebacker De’Vondre Campbell when the new league year officially opens on Wednesday.
“By waiting until Wednesday, they can put a June 1 designation on his release and gain a larger chunk of salary cap room than if they cut him right away,” Silverstein wrote. “The Packers have been making moves that will create salary cap room so they have the option of being a player in free agency. They are likely to pursue a safety and potentially players at other positions.”
Green Bay’s cap-saving strategies aren’t just about free agency, though. The team also has a handful of players from its 2023 roster who Silverstein said will be priorities in the coming days.
“In addition, they have several of their own free agents they want to re-sign, such as cornerback/returner Keisean Nixon, linebacker Eric Wilson and tight end Tyler Davis,” he wrote.
De’Vondre Campbell Went From Value Find to Overpriced Extension in Green Bay
Campbell was one of general manager Brian Gutekunst’s great value finds back in 2021, when the Packers signed the middle linebacker to a one-year deal worth just $2 million.
Campbell went on to earn first-team All-Pro honors the following season, posting a career-high 146 tackles to go along with 5 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks, per Pro Football Reference.
Green Bay signed Campbell to a five-year, $50 million contract the following offseason. Unfortunately, his play regressed — in part due to injuries — and that signing became an example of a negative-value deal on which the Packers have now decided to bail.
The team will save nearly $10.6 million in 2024 via the move, as well as nearly $8.9 million each of the following two years. Green Bay will incur a dead cap hit of nearly $3.7 million in each of the next three seasons and a dead cap hit of $657,000 in 2027 because of the move.
Packers Remain Poised to Cut Left Tackle David Bakhtiari in Coming Days
Campbell was the first of Green Bay’s significant cap casualties in 2024, but he is unlikely to be the last. Left tackle David Bakhtiari remains a strong candidate for departure considering his recent injury history and astronomical cap number in 2024.
The five-time All-Pro is entering the fourth and final season of a $92 million deal and will carry a hit north of $40 million if the Packers don’t address his contract situation. Green Bay can save almost $21 million by cutting or trading Bakhtiari at any point this spring/summer, which is essentially twice the space the team will create by parting ways with Campbell.
That the Packers have not yet made/announced a decision to send Bakhtiari packing keeps minimal hope alive for a potential restructure or extension for the 32-year-old left tackle, which might keep him with the team in the years to come. However, he has dealt with lingering knee issues that have sidelined him for most of the last three years, which render his future in the NFL questionable at best.
Bakhtiari has played in just 13 regular-season games over that span, including only one contest in both 2021 and 2023. It is more likely that Green Bay is exploring if there is even a minimal trade market for Bakhtiari, and thereby a chance to acquire some kind of asset in return for him, before making a final decision on a cut.
