The Green Bay Packers are confronting challenging decisions during this off-season regarding their roster. Despite the remarkable progress made by the franchise in 2023, changes are inevitable, and recent developments have accentuated this fact.
In an announcement today, the Green Bay Packers indicated their readiness to part ways with an offensive starter.
According to salary cap expert Ken Ingalls, if the Packers had intended to retain players like Savage, Nijman, or Nixon for the 2024 season, it would have been more cost-effective to extend their contracts before the void provisions took effect.
Not extending has resulted in potential savings being foregone:
– Savage: $4.1M
– Nijman: $1.9M
– Nixon: $1.1M
Given the absence of extensions, it appears that these players are likely to depart.
Yosh Nijman, in particular, seems to be on his way out of Green Bay. The decision not to extend his contract raises questions, as doing so would have avoided a dead cap hit. Nijman, a veteran offensive lineman, has been actively involved in 67 games with Green Bay, starting 22 of them.
Signed as a restricted free agent last offseason, Nijman received compensation below the market value for a borderline starting tackle. However, due to the emergence of Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker, Nijman primarily served as a swing tackle throughout 2023, filling in for the injured left tackle David Bakhtiari, who played only one game last season. Given Green Bay’s ongoing salary cap constraints, it is anticipated that Nijman will explore opportunities elsewhere in free agency.
