GREEN BAY – Free agency is off and running. Here's the latest as it relates to the Packers:
🟢 Added
🟡 Re-signed
🔴 Departed
🟡 T Yosh Nijman
Details: Signed restricted free-agent tender with Green Bay, April 17
Instant analysis: A former undrafted prospect who spent the bulk of his rookie season in 2019 on the practice squad, Nijman has started 21 games over the past two seasons, 11 at right tackle and 10 at left tackle. The 6-7, 314-pound lineman returns as the offense's starting right tackle, where he stepped in last season at Washington in Week 7 and stayed there the remainder of the year. He'd previously filled in for an injured David Bakhtiari at left tackle and rotated with him there while Bakhtiari was eased back into full-time action. With three accrued seasons at the conclusion of 2022, became a restricted free agent and received a one-year tender offer to return.
🟡 S Dallin Leavitt
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, April 4
Instant analysis: The Packers bring back yet another veteran special-teamer who was key to turning around that phase of the game under coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who coached Leavitt for four years with the Raiders and played a role in the Packers initially signing him just prior to training camp in 2022. Leavitt didn't miss a game last season despite a preseason shoulder injury and tied for the team lead with Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson in special-teams tackles with 13, setting a new career high. He now has 37 career tackles on special teams over five seasons.
🔴 LB Krys Barnes
Details: Agreed to terms with Arizona, March 25
Instant analysis: The fourth-year linebacker became a free agent earlier this month after not receiving a restricted tender. Signed an undrafted free agent in 2020, Barnes started 23 games over his first two seasons with the Packers, recording 157 tackles (103 solo), nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, two QB hits, four passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Barnes battled injuries this past season, playing in just six games. Inside linebacker remains one of the deepest positions on Green Bay's roster, with De'Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson all set to return in 2023.
🟡 LB Eric Wilson
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 25
Instant analysis: The Packers retain another pivotal piece of their improved special-teams unit. Wilson led Green Bay with a career-high 13 tackles on special teams last season despite first joining the team on Oct. 4. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker played in 13 games for Green Bay, adding four tackles (two solo) and a sack on defense. Wilson also blocked a punt against the New York Jets in Week 6. Over his six NFL seasons, Wilson has recorded 258 tackles, nine sacks and four interceptions in 91 games (27 starts), with 39 coverage tackles on special teams.
🟡 LB Justin Hollins
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 23
Instant analysis: Claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 24, Hollins proved to be a boost to the Packers' pass rush down the stretch following LB Rashan Gary's season-ending ACL injury. Appearing in six games as a reserve edge rusher, Hollins (6-5, 248) recorded 2½ sacks and four QB hits, playing 128 snaps on defense and eight more on special teams. For his career, which began with the Denver Broncos as a fifth-round draft pick in 2019 before being claimed by the Rams in 2020, Hollins has 9½ sacks and 15 QB hits over 55 games, including seven starts. He rejoins last year's fifth-round pick, Kingsley Enagbare, as the Packers' key depth pieces at outside linebacker behind Preston Smith and Gary heading into the draft.
🟡 S Rudy Ford
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 20
Instant analysis: A longtime NFL special-teams ace, Ford had a career year in Green Bay after signing with the Packers a week before the regular season. The six-year veteran recorded 40 tackles (29 solo), a career-high three interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and three passes defensed in 17 games (six starts). Ford led Green Bay with 87 yards on INT returns, tied for seventh in the NFL. With Adrian Amos a free agent, Ford could be a candidate to start on the backend next season. The 6-foot, 204-pound safety offers special-teams flexibility, producing four coverage tackles on special-teams snaps last season.
🟡 CB Corey Ballentine
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 20
Instant analysis: Signed to the practice squad on Sept. 28 and promoted to the active roster in November, Ballentine became a core special-teamer for the Packers down the stretch. The fifth-year veteran had four special-teams tackles in eight appearances. Ballentine also has 36 career kickoff returns for 855 yards (23.8 yards per return). In addition to his special-teams ability, the 26-year-old cornerback provides defensive depth with 36 career tackles and two pass deflections in 40 games (four starts). Drafted in the sixth round by the New York Giants in 2019, Ballentine also spent time with the Jets (2020) and Detroit Lions (2021) before coming to Green Bay.
🔴 DL Dean Lowry
Details: Agreed to terms with Minnesota, March 17
Instant analysis: A fourth-round pick out of Northwestern in 2016, Lowry was one of the longest-tenured players on the Packers' roster. The 6-foot-6, 296-pound defensive lineman recorded 252 tackles, 16 deflections, 15½ sacks and four fumble recoveries in 111 games (80 starts). Known for his durability, Lowry missed only three games in seven seasons with Green Bay, playing 3,742 defensive snaps (535 per season). He's the second starting defensive lineman to depart in free agency. The Packers have five defensive linemen on their offseason roster. Two-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark leads a room that will return recent draft picks Devonte Wyatt (2022, first round), Jonathan Ford (2022, seventh) and T.J. Slaton (2021, fifth), and practice-squad holdover Chris Slayton.
🟢 S Tarvarius Moore
Details: Signed with Green Bay, March 17
Instant analysis: A sixth-year player, Moore was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round (No. 95 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Southern Mississippi. He played in 61 regular season games with 13 starts during the regular season, registering 87 tackles (63 solo), six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Moore also registered 26 tackles on special teams. He appeared in six postseason contests and recorded a tackle (solo), two passes defensed and an interception as well as three special teams tackles.
🟢 LS Matt Orzech
Details: Signed with Green Bay, March 17
Instant analysis: For the second straight offseason, the Packers dove into unrestricted free agency to address their special teams with the signing of Orzech. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound long snapper has played in 50 career games over his three NFL seasons. He won a Super Bowl ring during his two-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams after breaking into the NFL as the Jacksonville Jaguars' long snapper in 2019. The Packers will be Orzech's sixth NFL team. He joins incumbent Jack Coco as the two long snappers on the Packers' offseason roster.
🔴 WR Allen Lazard
Details: Signed with New York Jets, March 17
Instant analysis: The Packers' leading receiver from last season departs for New York following a successful four-year run in Green Bay. After signing with the Packers late in the 2018 season, the 6-foot-5, 227-pound receiver caught 169 passes for 2,236 yards and 20 touchdowns in 57 games (40 starts). Lazard set career-highs in 2022 with 60 catches for 788 yards and six TDs. Lazard will be reunited with former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who serves in the same capacity in New York. Green Bay returns a promising 2022 rookie class of receivers that includes Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure and Bo Melton. The oldest wideout currently on the roster is Jeff Cotton, who signed a futures deal with the Packers in January. Green Bay likely will receive a compensatory pick next year following Lazard's departure.
🔴 DL Jarran Reed
Details: Signed with Seattle, March 17
Instant analysis: The 6-foot-3, 306-pound defensive lineman returns to Seattle after a 2022 season with Green Bay in which Reed registered 52 tackles, 14 quarterback hits and 2½ sacks in 17 games (14 starts). A second-round pick out of Alabama in 2016, Reed spent his first five seasons with the Seahawks before signing as an unrestricted free agent with Kansas City in 2021. Reed played 705 defensive snaps last season for the Packers, second only to Kenny Clark's 807. Green Bay likely will turn to 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt and third-year veteran T.J. Slaton to help fill Reed's void next season.
🔴 TE Robert Tonyan
Details: Agreed to terms with Chicago, March 16
Instant analysis: One of Green Bay's best undrafted-and-developed stories, Tonyan returns to his home state after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Packers. A native of McHenry, Ill., Tonyan caught 137 passes for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns in 68 regular-season games (17 starts). The 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end enjoyed his best season in 2020, when he tied Paul Coffman's single-season franchise record for the most TD receptions by a tight end with 11 in 2020. He bounced back from a season-ending ACL injury in 2021 to finish third on the offense with 53 receptions last season. The Packers are slated to return former third-round pick Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis, with veteran Marcedes Lewis current an unrestricted free agent.
🟡 CB Keisean Nixon
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 15
Instant analysis: The Packers opened the new league year by retaining one of their top free agents. Nixon was one of the NFL's best stories last season. After signing a one-year contract with the Packers last March, Nixon blossomed into the first Packers kick returner to be named first-team All-Pro since the Associated Press added the position in 1976. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound cornerback helped revitalize Green Bay's special teams – first as a flyer in punt coverage and then as a kickoff returner during the second half of the season. Nixon shattered the franchise record for single-season average on kick returns (28.8 yards per return), while adding 17 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble as a slot cornerback on defense.
🟡 TE Tyler Davis
Details: Re-signed with Green Bay, March 15
Instant analysis: A core special-teamer, Davis had 10 coverage tackles last season and led coordinator Rich Bisaccia's unit with 346 snaps (80.8%). The 6-foot-4, 252-pound tight end originally signed with Green Bay off Indianapolis' practice squad in September 2021. Over the past two seasons, Davis has caught eight passes for 61 yards in 31 regular-season appearances for the Packers. Davis and former third-round pick Josiah Deguara are currently the only veteran tight ends under contract with Green Bay.
Unrestricted free agents (4)
- S Adrian Amos
- WR Randall Cobb
- K Mason Crosby
- TE Marcedes Lewis
