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3 Packers Veterans Who Could Be Cap Casualty Cuts This Offseason

By Jason Schandl

Packers cut candidates this offseason include veteran tight end Jimmy Graham.
Packers cut candidates this offseason include veteran tight end Jimmy Graham. / Dylan Buell/Getty Images
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The Green Bay Packers are coming off one of the most unheralded 13-3 seasons in recent memory. Earning a first-round bye and reaching the NFC Championship game is the mark of a strong season, but anything shy of a Super Bowl is going to leave Packers fans hungry for more, especially while the window is closing on Aaron Rodgers' prime.

The Packers can't be complacent this offseason if they want to make a Super Bowl push, but they could have some difficulty, as they rank only 25th in the NFL in cap space.

With that in mind, here are three veterans that could be released as cap casualties for the Packers this offseason.

1. Jimmy Graham, TE

Jimmy Graham during a 2019 game against the Giants.
Jimmy Graham during a 2019 game against the Giants. / Al Pereira/Getty Images

Jimmy Graham is set to have the sixth-biggest cap hit on the team ($11.7 million) in 2020. There will be some dead money if he's released ($3.7 million), but that still means plenty of savings if the Packers cut bait. Even with Green Bay hurting for receiving options in 2019, Graham saw just 60 targets, which he converted into a pedestrian 447 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Clearly well pas his prime, Graham has averaged just 6.5 yards per target in the last three years, compared to 8.2 across his first seven NFL seasons. With 2019 third-round pick Jace Sternberger waiting in the wings, cutting Graham should be a no-brainer.

2. Dean Lowry, DE

Dean Lowry during a game against the Giants.
Dean Lowry during a game against the Giants. / Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

The Packers will have to wait for June 1st for cutting Dean Lowry to make much sense, as the dead money they'd incur will fall from $4.5 million to $1.5 million at that point. That means shedding his $5.2 million cap hit would free up some nice space. Lowry doesn't bring much as a pass rusher from the interior, having notched only 2 QB hits in 2019, and ProFootballFocus had him graded worse against the run than both Tyler Lancaster (who will likely return, as an ERFA) and Kingsley Keke. The Pack already have the talent for an in-house replacement for Lowry, so they won't lose much by releasing him.

3. Lane Taylor, G

Lane Taylor before a snap against the Rams.
Lane Taylor before a snap against the Rams. / John McCoy/Getty Images

The Packers drafted an interior lineman in Elgton Jenkins in the second round in 2019, and he showed some promise, leaving them with an excess of guards. Lane Taylor and Billy Turner both rank top-11 on the team in 2020 cap hit, but Taylor is the better cut candidate. He's set to make less ($6.0 million vs. $7.6 million), but cutting him would also give the Packers less dead money. Taylor also graded out behind Turner in ProFootballFocus' overall player grades in 2019 (while Jenkins graded out ahead of both).

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.