The Green Bay Packers were the youngest team to make the playoffs last year. As people picked up on that stat, it went from an interesting bit of trivia to a belabored talking point. It’s the thing even people who knew nothing about the Packers knew about the Packers.
Earlier in the season, Green Bay embraced what might seem like a deficiency to other teams. And after the onset of the legal tampering period leading into free agency on Monday, the Packers appear to be trending even younger heading into the 2024 season.
In a day filled with difficult decisions for various reasons, general manager Brian Gutekunst actively made Green Bay’s roster even younger. After a tumultuous three-season stretch following his ACL injury, the Packers finally parted ways with David Bakhtiari. A season after moving on from Aaron Rodgers and Mason Crosby, Bakhtiari became the longest-tenured player on the roster. At just age 32, he was somehow also the oldest.
While releasing Bakhtiari always felt like a foregone conclusion, Gutekunst’s other major moves on Monday weren’t as obvious. De’Vondre Campbell turns 31 in July and was the second-oldest contributor on last season’s team behind Preston Smith; his release came as little surprise after watching a decline in his play in 2023. Green Bay released guard Jon Runyan Jr. and safety Darnell Savage Jr., born just a few days apart and entering their age-27 season. But Gutekunst’s most gut-wrenching decision on Monday was releasing running back Aaron Jones. He turns 30 next year but appeared to have plenty of gas left in the tank.
Gutekunst made two high-profile signings to kick off free agency, bringing in replacements at running back and safety that were not only younger but ostensibly better, too. Josh Jacobs represented one of the best available offensive players in free agency. He just turned 26 and is three years Jones’ junior. (However, Jacobs has more carries and overall touches in his five seasons compared to seven for Jones.) The contract details indicate that the Packers aren’t tied to Jacobs forever; it’s essentially a one-year-and-then-we-can-reevaluate deal that still guarantees Jacobs a good chunk of money.
While some fans will debate whether Jacobs or Jones would be a better fit for the Packers, it’s hard to argue with signing Xavier McKinney at safety. Two years younger than Darnell Savage, McKinney instantly solves several issues the Green Bay defense has faced recently. He should become a focal point of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme. The four-year, $68 million contract in free agency is something Packers fans aren’t accustomed to. But handing it out to a proven 24-year-old still trending upward is a great way to spend cap space.
After outstanding drafts in 2022 and 2023 that produced 16 to 18 contributors to the 2024 roster, depending on your definition, Gutekunst will have 11 more picks in the upcoming draft. Whether or not he makes all 11 selections due to trading up or trading into the future, there will be yet another influx of youth into the roster. Like last year’s first-rounder Lukas Van Ness, Gutekunst gravitates toward younger prospects with more upside. Therefore, even Green Bay’s rookies are younger than average.
Free agency isn’t over. A veteran or two might still work their way onto this season’s roster. However, the trend is clear: the Packers still believe in draft-and-development as the core roster-building philosophy. They aren’t afraid to spend money when it’s justified, which Gutekunst felt was the case with players like Jacobs and McKinney. Replacements for Campbell, Runyan, and Bahktiari are likely coming via the draft — and they could be a full decade younger in the case of the two offensive linemen.
By continuing to rely on youth, Gutekunst is banking on last year’s successes not being an anomaly but more of a conscious roster-bulding philosophy. All of last year’s returning players will be a year older. But moving on from the veterans while bringing in younger replacements and drafting a new crop of rookies will almost certainly mean the 2024 Packers will end up even younger than the 2023 edition.
