Gutekunst was quiet in the open free agency market, the only signing this spring was a street free agent long snapper, Joel Fortunato. He’s been trying for four years to stick on an NFL roster and will get a chance by competing with incumbent Hunter Bradley. Yet Gutekunst, and Vice President of Football Operations Russ Ball were very busy in creatively moving money around in a depressed salary cap off-season to keep some of their own free agents from hitting the open market.
Restructured money for David Bakhtiari, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos (twice), Mason Crosby and Za’Darius Smith freed up enough cash to bring back most notably, Aaron Jones on a four year, 48 million dollar deal and Kevin King on a one year, six million dollar contract. Chandon Sullivan and Marcedes Lewis are coming back on team friendly, one year deals. All of the restricted free agents, including tight end Robert Tonyan are also coming back.
The Draft Room Is Open wncy.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wncy.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons
Packers.com consulted more than a dozen mock drafts from reputable national outlets and compiled a list of players most frequently mocked as draft selections in the bottom third of the first round (picks 20-32).
Between now and draft day, when the Packers are slated to select at No. 29 overall, those players will be profiled with thumbnail sketches in a new series entitled Draft Digest.
Today s player is …
Height/Weight: 6-3, 246
Key stats: Racked up 191 tackles (18 for a loss), 6½ sacks, five passes defensed and six forced fumbles in just 26 career games at Penn State.
College honors: Recognized as a consensus All-American as a sophomore in 2019 and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Was also honored as the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year in the Big Ten, while being a finalist for the Butkus Award (nation s top linebacker) and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award (nation s top defensive player).
No. 29 GREEN BAY PACKERS (14-4)
LAST SEASON: The Packers followed up a 13-3 regular season with an NFC championship game loss for a second straight year. QB Aaron Rodgers earned league MVP honors while leading a potent offense that also featured three other first-team All-Pros: OT David Bakhtiari, C Corey Linsley and WR Davante Adams. Linsley has since left for the Los Angeles Chargers. Bakhtiari’s status for the start of the 2021 season is uncertain after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31.
FREE AGENCY: Lost DE Montravius Adams, QB Tim Boyle, C Corey Linsley, G Lane Taylor, RB Jamaal Williams. Released LB Christian Kirksey, TE John Lovett, OT Rick Wagner. Signed LS Joe Fortunato. Re-signed RB Aaron Jones, CB Kevin King, TE Marcedes Lewis, DE Tyler Lancaster, S Will Redmond.
Apr 16, 2021
The Green Bay Packers have a promising young tandem at inside linebacker with last year’s rookie duo of undrafted Krys Barnes and fifth-round pick Kamal Martin. While they had solid debut seasons, can either become a legit difference-maker? Can either be even on par with Blake Martinez? Regardless of the top of the depth chart, the Packers are a man down after releasing veteran Christian Kirksey.
Missouri’s Nick Bolton is our No. 5-ranked prospect.
Nick Bolton’s path to the NFL has been paved by his family.
His father, Carlos, played linebacker at Louisiana Tech. Starting in first grade, Nick and his father would watch game film. From an early age, Nick Bolton showed tremendous instincts. Those instincts are his calling card today as a top linebacker prospect in this year’s draft.