The Packers will look much different in 2023 with Jordan Love at quarterback, but these three free agency mistakes could sink Green Bay.
Transitioning from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love is going to be a challenge for the Packers. Replacing one of the game's all-time greats is never easy. That's exactly what Green Bay is asking their new quarterback to do.
Things might have been easier for Love if GM Brian Gutekunst had been more active in free agency. It's hard to make an argument that the Packers' roster improved this offseason. Admittedly, Green Bay faced serious financial restraints due to the league's salary cap.
Even so, the team should have done better in the following three areas.
Packers: 3 free agency mistakes Brian Gutekunst regrets
3. Not signing a top-flight nose tackle
Nose tackle isn't the most glamorous position in the modern NFL, but it's a crucial spot up front for the Packers' defense. It's important that whoever defensive coordinator Joe Barry deploys in that spot is able to occupy a lot of attention from the opposing offensive line.
Currently, T.J. Slaton owns the top spot on the depth chart. The former fifth-round pick has the size required to clog up the middle of the line, but he's an unproven commodity.
The lack of demand for true nose tackles around the NFL should have made it possible for the Packers to sign a more proven option. Instead, they've let Jarran Reed Walk and trusted Slaton to pick up the slack. That might work out for the Green Bay defense but it's a risk the organization didn't need to take. Don't be surprised if another nose tackle arrives in town before Week 1.
2. Failing to replace Allen Lazard
The Jets put the Packers in a tough spot with Allen Lazard's free agency. It's hard to say he's worth the four-year, $44 million deal he signed with New York. On the other hand, his departure leaves a massive hole in Green Bay's wide receiver room.
Specifically, Love is going to miss out on the opportunity to throw to such a big-bodied wide receiver on the outside. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs both have above-average height for the position but neither is the physical presence that Lazard provided the team last season.
That's going to put more pressure on Green Bay's ground game to produce yards consistently. Love will be best suited when he's allowed to throw the ball down the field via play-action. That won't work if the ground game doesn't get going.
Losing Lazard just takes away a potential safety blanket for Love. That's a dangerous roll of the dice for a quarterback who hasn't played a ton of NFL snaps. Giving Lazard the contract the Jets gave him would have been a mistake for the Packers, but failing to acquire a like-for-like replacement also represents a front office failure.
1. Letting Robert Tonyan walk
Tonyan isn't the most explosive tight end in the NFL, but he's a sure-handed option who proved to be one of Aaron Rodgers' most productive targets. Letting him head to the Bears on a paltry one-year, $2.65 million contract was a huge error by Gutekunst and his staff.
In fairness to the Packers, they did spend second and third-round draft picks on tight ends to fill the void created by Tonyan's departure. Luke Musgrave projects to be a dynamic receiver in Matt LaFleur's system. Tucker Kraft gives the team more optionality than they've previously had at the tight end position.
The issue here is that Tonyan's salary should have allowed the Packers to retain him and ease their need to overhaul the entire position group. Keeping him to play alongside and mentor Musgrave would have set the franchise up for immediate and long-term success. Instead, Gutekunst pulled the trigger on an unnecessary position overhaul.
Now Packers fans will have to watch Tonyan emerge as Justin Fields' safety blanket inside their own division. Chalk it up as a miscalculation by Gutekunst. He clearly thought Tonyan was going to make more in free agency and ended up making a big move he didn't need to make.
