Clint Lamb
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The Packers created almost $2.5 million in cap space on Wednesday morning, as the team restructured defensive lineman Dean Lowry’s contract. According to Field Yates with ESPN, $3.11 million of Lowry’s $4.1 million salary was converted into a signing bonus.
That move will clear $2.488 million in cap space for Green Bay to use.
The Packers restructured the contract of starting DL Dean Lowry, converting $3.11M of his $4.1M salary into a signing bonus, per source.
This creates $2.488M in cap space for Green Bay to make use of as needed for 2021.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 26, 2021
Now, your first reaction might be to ask why. Why was this space cleared? Are the Packers planning to use these extra savings for something big — like maybe acquiring an elite wide receiver named Julio Jones to pair with Davante Adams?
At this time, we don’t know for sure.
However, we do know that it’s going to take way more than that $2.5 million in savings to land a player with over a $15 million cap hit for 2021. According to OverTheCap.com, Green Bay had only about $2.5 million in space before restructuring Lowry.
That’s a pretty sizable gap, right? Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options left to create space either, as Zach Kruse with the Packers Wire pointed out soon after the news broke.
With Dean Lowry restructured, the Packers don't have many options left for clearing cap space. Of course, the team's two top cap hits – 12 and 17 – are the top remaining options. Rodgers and Adams account for almost $54M of the 2021 cap currently.
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) May 26, 2021
In other words, don’t hold your breath, Packer fans.
Yes, adding Jones to the offense might be an enticing option to help convince Aaron Rodgers to stick around, but that just isn’t in the cards right now. With Rodgers currently wanting out of Green Bay, approaching him with a “hey, will you restructure” ask is probably a bad idea.
The same goes for Adams, who has said that he’ll need to rethink things if Rodgers leaves.
More than likely, this was a move to either A) sign draft picks or B) create some more wiggle room in case things come up during the season. That doesn’t mean Jones isn’t a possibility, but it is extremely unlikely at this point.
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.
I wouldn’t think Julio Jones would leave Atlanta and go to a tenuous situation in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers on the way out if he really wanted to win now. I think he’s looking for more of a sure thing. I even think Buffalo might be a good fit.