My best estimates for even two hours into the future—let alone two years—would have been horribly off if you had asked me to forecast the Packers roster on the first day of free agency.
So please, before we start, try not to take this exercise too seriously. The Packers, the newest club in the NFL, have an extremely promising future—at least for the next several years.
However, the NFL window closes quickly, and just eighteen Packers players have contracts that run beyond the next two seasons, despite their wealth of prospective talent.
This isn’t going to be some salary cap expert piece; rather, it’s just a general recommendation for whose jersey, if you want to make a good investment, you should get.
Aside from that, you really should replace that #33 in your closet. Sean Clifford and Jordan Love are the quarterbacks.
There’s hardly much in life that is certain.
Among them is Jordan Love. Love’s contract cannot be extended until May because the Packers need to wait a full calendar year after the modified agreement from last offseason.
But don’t worry, Love will receive his big pay day and we will be able to watch him for many years to come.
Sean Clifford appears to have the necessary skills to take over as the backup. He had a good preseason the previous year, and he seems to be well-liked by many in the company.
He will still be bound by his contract in 2026 as a rookie from 2023, so that’s not a concern.
Running backs: None.
If I had known, I would have told you last week that AJ Dillon is going somewhere and Aaron Jones stays with the Packers. It was the exact reverse that happened.
Josh Jacobs is the lone choice on the table here. After the 2025 season, when he will be 28 years old (74 in running back years), his contract calls for a “we’ll see” sort of choice.
I don’t see the Packers restricting his carries the way they occasionally did with Jones.
With all due respect, I believe the Packers will drive Jacobs into the ground for a full two years before requesting that he accept a wage reduction or an increase. He then goes on a trek.
Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, and Malik Heath are wide receivers.Since that Reed and Wicks will still be under contract as rookies, they seem certain.
I believe Wicks will have made a name for himself in Green Bay by then. Indeed, he is the player on the team currently with the most promise.
In two years, Heath will become a restricted free agent, and Green Bay should have little trouble keeping him.
After the 2025 season, he may quite easily maintain a WR4/5 position.
I went with Christian Watson’s firing and Romeo Doubs’ resigning.
Doubs seems like a modest first-team player who Green Bay could sign to a contract that benefits the franchise.
Even as Watson enters his third year of the profession, the boom/bust debate still lingers.
His explosion might make it difficult for the Packers to afford him.
In two years, as a 27-year-old, he may be seeking for work anyplace if he busts. Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft are Tight Ends.
This is not a question mark.
Both players amazed everyone in their first year and are now on inexpensive rookie contracts. other than quarterback, the most reliable position on the team.
Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker are the offensive line.
Zach It seems certain that Tom will get his extension.
Even though he will have one of the biggest cap hits on the squad in 2026, Elgton Jenkins will still be under contract.
I’m predicting that the Packers will retain Jenkins above players like Josh Jacobs and others if they are in a salary cap crunch and want to preserve Jordan Love above all else.
Walker is a strong candidate to take Yosh Nijman’s spot as the starting replacement tackle in Green Bay for a few seasons. In three weeks, I’m thinking we’ll find a few more guys to add to this list.
Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks, and Colby Wooden are the defensive line.
Although Clark’s contract expires in 2026, it appears that both sides are keenly interested in extending it in the near future.
After the 2019 season, the Packers will need to make a decision about Devonte Wyatt’s fifth-year option. Brooks and Wooden will both remain under contract.
Although Brian Gutekunst has already demonstrated his willingness to give his first-round choices an extra year (see Darnell Savage), it could be difficult to convince Wyatt and Quay Walker to sign completely guaranteed contracts, especially in Wyatt’s case (who is 28 years old).
It was a difficult choice, but in the end, I left him out. Brenton Cox Jr., Lukas Van Ness, and Rashan Gary are edge rushers.
Preston Smith has already demonstrated his near-certainty.
Resurrected in the spring of 2021, when it seemed quite likely that he would be a cap casualty, he remains here and, for some reason, is still under contract through 2026!
In his six seasons with the Packers, Smith has essentially taken two salary cuts to stay with the team. However, I do get the impression that the enjoyment ends after this year.
Lukas Van Ness is expected to take over as the starting quarterback by the Packers, and Smith makes sense as a cap casualty. Unless, naturally, there is a third wage reduction.
Rashan Gary, despite having the biggest cap charge on the club for 2026, should be a lock somewhere.
With a lot of room to evolve into a rotating role, Brenton Cox Jr. will be an RFA. Quay Walker is a linebacker.
If Walker wants the Packers to activate his fifth-year option in April of next year, he will need to improve even more on his 2023 performance.
The performance of Green Bay’s expected rookie linebacker in the upcoming campaign may also have an impact on this choice.
When it came down to it, I had to choose between exercising Walker and Wyatt, and since Walker is a younger player and plays a position with less depth going forward, I went with him.
Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and Jaire Alexander are cornerbacks.
These three players have contracts that expire in 2026.
Naturally, Jaire will have a large salary cap charge, but if his antics from the previous season persist, I wouldn’t completely count him out as a trade option (put down your pitchforks, please).
For the next three seasons, with a gun to my head, I would still refer to him as a Packer.
Although Nixon isn’t a lock either, his new contract from this summer isn’t too expensive, which is encouraging for his prospects of staying with the Packers.
Carrington Valentine will probably play out his rookie deal with the green and gold unless he has a seismic fall down this season. Xavier McKinney and Anthony Johnson Jr. are the backups.
Anthony Johnson is subject to the same rules as Carrington Valentine.
When we rerun this exercise in two years, Xavier McKinney, the bright new toy for the Packers, will only be 26 years old.
Considering his age and the deal he signed, McKinney appears to be a cornerstone of the Packers’ secondary for many years to come.
I don’t do punters or kickers because it’s just a waste of time for everybody.
Technically, Anders Carlson is bound by a contract, but in the case of experts, these contracts really mean nothing.
In actuality, he could not be around in September.
I have picked 23 guys in total to play for the Packers for at least three more seasons.
A touch more than the league average, I would guess, considering how much the Packers should produce in the future from their exceptional 2023 rookie class.
