GREEN BAY – General Manager Brian Gutekunst spoke with the media for roughly 35 minutes Thursday to wrap up the recently concluded Packers season.
Here are five things we learned:
- The Packers have more financial flexibility heading into this offseason than in recent years.
Gutekunst noted the team's salary cap situation is better than it's been since the Covid seasons, with a lot of cap charges that were pushed down the road coming off the books now. That doesn't necessarily mean a wild spending spree in free agency is forthcoming, because the Packers have some of their own players whose contracts will be up this year and next that'll require room to keep.
There's also no knowing at this early stage who might be available in free agency or via trade that would fit the Packers' vision and culture. Looking at all those options will be part of the usual process, but it doesn't sound like much contract restructuring to create cap space to make any moves will be necessary in the coming months.
"All the decisions we've made over the past few years has put us in the situation where we're in pretty good shape right now," he said. "Again, we've got to keep making good decisions, and it's never a one-year thing. You're looking at two, three years down the road.
"But I feel really good about our ability to go do what we need to do to field a championship-level team."
- He doesn't feel it's imperative to bring in veteran players just for their experience, though.
The Packers have been the youngest team in the league, based on average age of the players on the 53-man roster, for two years running. But that "youngest team" label is more a statistic than a true reflection, the way Gutekunst views it.
The vast majority of this year's team, aside from the rookie class, has now made the playoffs and played postseason football twice, so he sees next season's third- and fourth-year players as not so young anymore.
"We're young from a number perspective, but from an experience perspective, I don't think we're young at all," he said. "That's an excuse that we just won't have any use for.
"I don't think experience held us back at all."
- The two positional areas being discussed the most – receivers and pass rushers – will need more consistency and continued growth regardless of potential additions.
While acknowledging the offense was explosive at times and then "hit some walls" later, Gutekunst downplayed the idea that acquiring a proven, No. 1 wide receiver is a priority. He's more focused on the group in house, despite the uncertainty of Christian Watson's 2025 season due to pending knee surgery, raising their games.
"Teams that have one receiver that's super heavy with targets, that doesn't usually play out well for playoffs and success there," he said. "We're looking for these guys that we have currently to take a step into that role where they are more consistent on the down-to-down basis.
"If there's somebody outside of our building, whether it's the draft, free agency, that makes some sense for us, we'll certainly look to do that, but we're also looking for these guys to continue to grow and hopefully grow into that space."
Inconsistency was the biggest issue with the pass rush as well. It can't be discounted that the defense finished as a highly ranked unit in Jeff Hafley's first season as coordinator, but the ups and downs were mostly related to getting (or not) to the quarterback.
"There's times we kind of broke out, and then there's times we'd have these lulls where we just we just we weren't probably playing as well as we would like," Gutekunst said.
"There was some transition to a new scheme, but I think we didn't grow into that consistent front like we had hoped. But there were times that we showed it, so I know it's capable. I think we've got the right guys."
That doesn't mean standing pat at the position, though.
"With pass rushers, you can never have enough," he said.
- He's non-committal on Jaire Alexander's future and shared some thoughts on other pending contract decisions.
Gutekunst denied there's any "disconnect" between Alexander and the organization following another injury-interrupted season that didn't play out the way either side hoped.
He did admit there's understandable frustration on both sides that one of the defense's best players, whose high-priced contract has two years remaining, has missed so many games over three of the past four seasons. That will have to be considered as plans for 2025 are made, but he doesn't consider Alexander's contract prohibitive.
"When you have a player who's done what he's done for us in the past, and then not being able to get him out on the field consistently, that's tough," he said. "We're at the beginning stages of just gathering information as a whole before we start looking at next year and how we're going to lay this thing out."
Regarding pending free agents, Gutekunst expressed strong interest in bringing kicker Brandon McManus back after the veteran stabilized what had been a troublesome spot for nearly 1½ seasons. He also praised the season center Josh Myers had and everything he battled through on and off the field to play and play well, pointing out his leadership and the trust QB Jordan Love has in him. He also said it appears Myers avoided a major injury in the playoff game in Philadelphia.
By early May, the Packers will have to make fifth-year option decisions on 2022 first-round picks Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt, and Gutekunst thought their third seasons were their best as pros so far despite their minor injuries. He credited Walker for being both an impactful player and leader, and Wyatt as the defense's most consistent interior pass rusher.
"We're super fired up about both those guys' seasons this year," he said.
- He remains bullish about the Packers' outlook moving forward, but cautioned against any complacency.
Despite a one-round-earlier exit from the postseason this year, Gutekunst feels the "same way now" about the team's bright future as he did a year ago. Stepping outside of the disappointment of the moment in losing in the wild-card round, he saw a team that still grew, particularly through the defensive transition, and that hung tough when things didn't go well.
But the push to go further has to come from within. It can't just be a talking point, but rather an action and attitude one as well, for a maturing team.
"The thing that's been on my mind as we concluded this season is we need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency," Gutekunst said. "We've got a bunch of good guys in that locker room, we've got a bunch of talented guys in that locker room, and I think it's time we started competing for championships, right?
"I think they're ready. I think they are wired right. I think that group is the kind of guys that can do that. But at the end of the day, you've got to go do it.
"So I'm excited about the group, but the sense of urgency, not getting complacent … some of these guys have now proven themselves to be NFL football players and have attained that, but what's out there for us as a team that we're willing to commit to and sacrifice for? If I'm looking at one thing, that would be it."
