The Green Bay Packers are not exactly a historically active team on the trade market. But this reality has changed since Brian Gutekunst became the general manager in 2018. Even though he is not known for splashy moves, Gutekunst has been pretty active in executing minor deals. One period, in particular, tends to be busy for the executive. Gutekunst has built a track record of deals around the time he’s establishing the initial 53-man roster, between the end of August and the beginning of September. Considering how many quality offensive linemen the Packers have this year, it’s possible that Gutekunst turns one of them into draft capital for next season.
Since 2018, the Packers have traded away Brett Hundley and Lenzy Pipkins (2018); Reggie Gilbert and Justin McCray (2019); Josh Jackson and Ka’dar Hollman (2021); and Cole Van Lanen (2022) at the end of training camp. They have also acquired Antonio Morrison (2018), B.J. Goodson (2019), Isaac Yiadom, and Corey Bojorquez (2021).
The Packers have acquired two offensive linemen in the trades of Justin McCray to the Cleveland Browns and Cole Van Lanen to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And this is something to keep an eye on in the next three months. The Packers have 16 linemen on the roster, and 13 of them were already on the team before the draft; Green Bay didn’t draft any offensive linemen but signed three undrafted players at the position.
Right now, five players are absolute locks to be on the 53: David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and Zach Tom. That should be the starting offensive line if everything goes according to the plan. Yosh Nijman is a viable starting tackle and may be the right tackle if the coaching staff decides to move Zach Tom to center. However, Nijman is playing under the restricted free-agent tender. The $4.3 million is guaranteed but movable.
If Green Bay receives an interesting offer from a team that needs a starting tackle, it could make sense to trade away a backup for additional cap space and future draft capital. However, it would require real compensation — at least a third-rounder — to justify trading a starter who finished last year as the best tackle in run-block win rate and spent most of the season in the top 10 in pass-block win rate, according to ESPN.
Trading Nijman would mean the Packers are comfortable with their developmental pieces — especially Caleb Jones and Rasheed Walker, who split left tackle snaps last preseason. Luke Tenuta and Sean Rhyan may also be part of the equation.
Rhyan could be another trade option. He is still a valuable roster piece, being a third-round pick from last year, but his rookie season went as bad as it could have been. He didn’t play much during the preseason, was inactive for most of the season, and finished the year with a PED suspension. If he doesn’t have a strong camp, the Packers might look to move him and recoup as much draft capital as possible.
Considering Green Bay’s recent history, though, they might hold on to players they feel could be real contributors and trade lesser pieces for late-round draft pick compensation. They basically can transform players they would otherwise release into something. Both McCray and Van Lanen were versatile linemen who had previously had playing time for the Packers but weren’t in their plans anymore.
If that’s the case again this year, the most likely players to be traded away are Royce Newman and Jake Hanson. Both of them started last season as starters, and both were out of position because of injuries around the line. Newman is primarily a guard, but he played at right tackle. Hanson is a center, but he played at right guard. The Packers ended up benching them, and with so many young options currently on the roster, it’s feasible that there won’t be space for them after the coaching staff wasn’t sold on their performances.
Royce Newman, in particular, has shown he can be a decent starting guard. Therefore, it could make sense for a needy team to give away a late-round pick for him, especially because he has two cheap years left on his rookie deal.
Brian Gutekunst has been willing to move pieces in late August, and this logic is important considering how the undrafted free agent market has affected the value of sixth- and seventh-round picks in the last couple of years. With a surplus of talent on the offensive line, such a valuable unit for executives around the NFL, the Packers might take advantage of the final cuts once again and get out of the process with even more draft capital for 2024.
