Signing outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus in 2021. Signing another linebacker in Jaylon Smith two weeks before that. Giving it a go with Damon “Snacks” Harrison late in 2020 in an attempt to solidify the defensive line. Taking a shot on cornerback Rasul Douglas in-season in 2021, which has paid off big time. Now, claiming former first-round pick Johnathan Abram to help at safety.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst orchestrated all of these moves in-season during the last couple of years. They’ve also all been on the defensive side of the ball. It continues a trend, and a bizarre one at that, of the willingness to add to the defense but not the offense.
Unless you count the earth-shifting signings of wide receiver Tavon Austin or running back Tyler Ervin, Gutekunst hasn’t done squat to add a legitimate piece to the offense when the Packers needed a boost during the season. This year would’ve been a prime opportunity to trade for a wide receiver at the deadline. Hindsight now says standing pat may have been better, given that this season is up in flames. Still, a large reason for the dumpster fire is the fascination the Packers have had with adding to one side of the ball but not the other.
In fairness, nobody, not even Gutekunst, could’ve predicted Douglas turning into the cornerback that he has. That signing was pulling the needle from the haystack. The other ones, not so much.
- Mercilus had a productive career with the Houston Texans before they let him go, and many teams targeted him upon his release.
- Snacks Harrison had a solid resumé as a game-wrecker on the interior of the defensive line for years when the Packers scooped him up late in 2020.
- Jaylon Smith was seen as someone who needed a change of scenery, which the Packers banked on that when they signed him.
The point isn’t whether these acquisitions worked out but rather that Green Bay has shown a willingness to expand the horizons and sign players during the year on defense but not on the other side of the ball, for whatever reason.
Instead of inking wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last year, the Packers lost out to the Los Angeles Rams. Rest assured, though, the Packers were “in the conversation.” It’s a line that gets vomited out every time the Packers either don’t show interest in a potential fit on offense or take an apparent swing-and-miss.
OBJ is a free agent again, but this season is beyond repair. Not even someone with Beckham’s skillset could redeem the Green Bay offense.
Still, the Packers claimed Abram, the former Las Vegas Raiders safety and first-round pick, on Wednesday.
There have been plenty of problems on the back end of the defense at safety, with both Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage not playing up to standards this year. The former hasn’t been dreadful, while the same can’t be said for the latter.
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry said last week that he believes Savage would thrive in the slot corner role, but a lack of safety depth likely wouldn’t allow for the shift. So what did Gutekunst go out and do? Acquire a safety who just got let go but might do well in a different setting.
If this was a move made with an eye toward the future, that’s perfectly fine. However, if Gutekunst made this move to secure things more on the defense for this year in the hopes of a turnaround, it’d be a head-scratching decision given the lack of attention he’s paid to the offense.
Green Bay’s offense is starving for any sort of help right now. Wide receiver Randall Cobb is still on injured reserve. Rookie wideout Romeo Doubs is expected to miss four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain. Veteran Sammy Watkins looks like he’s on the last legs of his career. Christian Watson can’t stay on the field.
Signing Abram can almost be viewed as a slap in the face to the offense, a group that has to be looking around, waving its arms, wondering when it can expect Gutekunst to provide reinforcements.
A word to the wise for anyone clinging to that hope: Don’t hold your breath.
If Abram works out, fantastic. Certainly, Packers fans will be rooting for it to be a home-run signing that carries weight into this year and beyond. The issue is that it shines a bright, annoying light on the last few years and how painfully obvious it’s been that the offense could use that one final piece to get pushed over the top (or 100 of those pieces this year), only to be shooed away.
Here’s a tip of the cap to Gutekunst for sticking to his ways by addressing a clear need on the defense while also expecting miracles from the offense with no further assistance on the way.
