![\"Packers](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1291100218-e1708106390933.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
<\/p>\nGreen Bay Packers\u00a0general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters in January that the team is \u201cgoing to have to add numbers\u201d at the safety position in 2024. Could their search lead them to a potential rising star in NFL free agency?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report\u2019s Alex Ballentine\u00a0believes the Packers might have a chance to do just that if the Washington Commanders decide against placing the franchise tag on starting strong safety Kamren Curl before the March 5 deadline.<\/p>\n
Curl emerged as one of the most versatile pieces on the Commanders\u2019 defense in 2023, lining up all over their secondary and demonstrating good instincts both in coverage and against the run. While his growth could motivate the Commanders to reinvest in him, new head coach Dan Quinn may have a different vision for their 2024 defense.<\/p>\n
In that case, Curl would become a \u201clogical target\u201d for the Packers in Ballentine\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Packers can carve out some salary-cap space, then Curl would be a logical target. Darnell Savage, [Jonathan] Owens and Rudy Ford are all set to hit free agency, and new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has a strong background in working with secondaries,\u201d Ballentine wrote on February 15. \u201cHe could help elevate Curl\u2019s game to the next level and add some ball production to his impressive skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n
While\u00a0Pro Football Focus\u00a0projects the Commanders to keep Curl and pay him $16.26 million under the franchise tag next season, the Packers would have a chance to sign him for less annually \u2014 over more years \u2014 if he reaches NFL free agency. If he does,\u00a0Spotrac\u2019s market projections expect him to sign a four-year deal worth $57.7 million.<\/p>\n
Versatility could be Curl\u2019s biggest selling point if he ends up hitting the open market. According to\u00a0Pro Football Focus, he played a career-high 1,088 defensive snaps for the Commanders in 2023 and split his time between roles in the box (428 snaps), in the slot (166) and roaming as a deep-field free safety (422). He also thrived in coverage despite his shifting alignments, allowing a career-low catch percentage (69.2%).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s certainly something the Packers could find useful. If they do not re-sign any of their pending free agent safeties, they will be looking to completely rebuild the deep parts of their secondary during the offseason. They could \u2014 and probably should \u2014 use a high-end draft pick to find a new long-term starter, but adding a veteran would go a long way toward helping that incoming rookie find his footing and settle into the NFL.<\/p>\n
It wouldn\u2019t be the first time that Gutekunst tried addressing safety needs in such a way. During the 2019 offseason, he signed veteran\u00a0Adrian Amos\u00a0\u2014 then 25-year-old \u2014 to a four-year, $37 million contract and then used the No. 21 overall pick to select Savage.<\/p>\n
Curl is projected to cost more than Amos did, but the Packers might not mind a high investment if it gives them a versatile defensive back who can plug-and-play all over.<\/p>\n
As of February 16, the Packers are not in an ideal salary-cap position to consider signing an expensive free agent like Curl. He could wind up being the most expensive safety on the market if\u00a0Antoine Winfield Jr.\u00a0and\u00a0Kyle Dugger\u00a0re-sign with their respective teams. Meanwhile,\u00a0Over the Cap\u00a0projects Green Bay at roughly $2.85 million over the cap.<\/p>\n
Realistically, though, the Packers have plenty of levers to pull to clear more cap space.<\/p>\n
The Packers could clear\u00a0chunks of cap space\u00a0if they cut one or several of the following veterans:\u00a0David Bakhtiari\u00a0($20.93 million),\u00a0Preston Smith\u00a0($12.4 million as a post-June 1 cut),\u00a0Aaron Jones\u00a0($11.3 million as a post-June 1 cut),\u00a0Kenny Clark\u00a0($17 million as a post-June 1 cut) or\u00a0De\u2019Vondre Campbell\u00a0($10.5 million as a post-June 1 cut).<\/p>\n
Alternatively, the Packers could also extend or restructure any of those four veterans and still create cap savings for themselves in 2024. Jones and Clark would be the most logical extension candidates from the group, but\u00a0Keisean Nixon\u00a0(a pending free agent with void years through 2027) also makes sense as a back-to-back All-Pro returner.<\/p>\n
Point being: If the Packers want to create more spending room, they have options.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Green Bay Packers\u00a0general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters in January that the team is \u201cgoing to have to add numbers\u201d at the safety position in 2024. Could… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nbatruc.playsetmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}