After reports surfaced that Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had agreed to a contract extension, a much-anticipated press conference followed.
What were Gutekunst’s thoughts on how the season ended? How will the Packers navigate contracts like Rashan Gary‘s? Will Brandon McManus return after a disastrous performance in the playoffs?
He answered some of those questions, and the overall message was clear: The Packers are running it back.
It doesn’t matter whether you, I, or anyone else agrees with it. That plan seems very apparent.
At times during the press conference, it sure didn’t feel like a general manager speaking after his team lost five in a row to end the season, including three collapses that culminated in a soul-crushing loss to the Chicago Bears. The vibes weren’t those of a general manager frustrated with how things ended.
Perhaps one of the more surprising revelations involved Rashan Gary, who was expected to step up in the wake of the Micah Parsons injury. Instead, after piling up 7.5 sacks early in the season, Gary went the final 10 games without a sack or tackle for loss. Green Bay could save $20 million if they release Gary later in the offseason. However, Gutekunst maintained his faith in Gary, who looked like a shell of himself for more than half of the 2025 season.
I expect all these guys who are under contract to be back. … I thought he started out really, really strong. He had a lot of production early. … I did think toward the end he wasn’t as productive as he was at the beginning. Certainly, that’ll be something I’m sure he looks at personally, and we look at as a team how we can make sure that his production level is the same at the beginning and end of the season.
The disappointing last 10 games for Gary didn’t look like an outlier, and he seemed more like a player who had lost the pursuit speed that made him his money before his ACL tear a couple of years back. Bringing him back with a $28 million cap hit set for 2026 is a move that a dysfunctional organization would make. Maybe Gutekunst was cushioning the blow. If Gary returns, the Packers surely will somewhat alter that contract.
Gutekunst didn’t seem too concerned about Green Bay’s pretty woeful cornerback group, either. They were a mess down the stretch of the season, and especially after Parsons’ injury. Keisean Nixon didn’t live up to the billing of a No. 1 cornerback. Nate Hobbs couldn’t stay healthy, and even when he was, he struggled on the boundary. Carrington Valentine was fine for stretches of the season, but tackling was a major issue for him.
Despite all those glaring concerns, and entering an offseason where fans are screaming from the mountaintop to address the position, Gutekunst sounded confident in what the Packers already have. He also made an eyebrow-raising comment about there being no wholesale changes at the position.
We had some injuries there. Hobbs missed most of the season, never really got going. I thought Carrington (Valentine) stepped in and did a great job, he’s a young player that’s still getting better. Keisean (Nixon) had a very, very good year, he was in the top three in PBUs and did some really good things.
So, do we need wholesale changes? No. I do think it’s an area though that those guys can get hurt, they’re the smaller guys on the field, we ask a lot of those guys in run support, so depth there for me is important that we have answers.
Brandon McManus dealt with an injury that kept him on the shelf for a couple of weeks and then had a nightmarish playoff game against the Bears. McManus missed two field-goal attempts and an extra point, which played a major role in Green Bay’s loss.
When asked about McManus, Gutekunst was quick to highlight McManus’s recent kick streak, while noting there will be competition in the offseason. But he noted that the Packers always bring in a second kicker during offseason programs.
We’ll have competition at that spot, but not because of anything that happened this past year. I think you always want competition at that spot … he worked through an injury thing early in the year, which I commend him for fighting through, because it was a little bit more than probably he let on. And once he got through it, he was really, really good until that final game. So he’s a pro’s pro.
Whether it was McManus, Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, Gary, Aaron Banks, or others that many are on the fence about, Gutekunst was steadfast in his belief in the roster currently in place. Of course, it’ll be somewhat different in 2026; there’s always some turnover. As far as major changes, Gutekunst isn’t going to show his hand. Still, it sure didn’t sound like the Packers have many doubts about the current group.
If the Packers stay moderately healthy next year, who knows? Many of the pieces lost for the season, such as Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt, and Elgton Jenkins, were major contributors. Therefore, Gutekunst’s instinct may be correct.
