Former Vikings GM Calls Green Bay Packers 2023 Offseason A Failure

A former Minnesota Vikings general manager called out the Green Bay Packers for failing in their duties this offseason. The Packers have caught a lot of attention this offseason as they were in a public negotiation battle with the New York Jets for the rights of Aaron Rodgers services for the 2023-24 seasons. 

The Packers brass decided early this offseason to go with Jordan Love as the starting quarterback. The front office was extremely quiet in free agency, letting veterans walk or test the market in March. In April, general manager Brian Gutekunst went via the draft to fill out the roster on offense and add key pieces to the defense. These moves have sparked debate about whether the Packers are rebuilding or in the middle of a transitional season. 

Former Vikings GM Calls out the Green Bay Packers

Former Vikings general manager Jeff Diamond isn’t impressed with the Packers’ decisions this offseason. He listed the Packers as one of the four teams that “failed” this offseason. Diamond thinks the Packers should be in a better position next season when their dead cap is taken care of. Diamond gave his reasons why the Packers would struggle in the division after not getting enough help this spring:

“The offseason has been quiet on the free agency front as the Packers have dealt with a tight salary cap due to $40.3 million of dead money on Aaron Rodgers after his trade to the New York Jets. Green Bay lost leading receiver Allen Lazard, top tight end Robert Tonyan and a couple of good players on their defensive line in Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed. The free agent signings have mostly been returning depth players.

Their defense was shaky last season (No. 26 run defense and No. 22 in total pressures), so the Packers picked edge Lukas Van Ness in the first round, a good player with upside. Still, he was never a starter at Iowa and had only 6.5 sacks last season. The Packers are counting on their best pass rusher, Rashan Gary, to make a successful comeback from ACL surgery, which is always iffy the first year back.

The team also has battled injury problems on the offensive line (particularly Pro Bowl tackle David Bakhtiari), but it hasn’t added much help there. Jordan Love has not been handed an overly talented group on offense even though there is hope at wide receiver and tight end because of the past two drafts.

The group is led by 2022 draftees Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, plus 2023 second-round WR Jayden Reed and two tight ends from this year’s draft: Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. These are all young players, so there will be growing pains, including for Love as a first-year starter.”

Did the Packers fail?

The Green Bay Packers didn’t have much cap space to work with this offseason. The team they had last season wasn’t going to compete for a Super Bowl this season, especially after the Rodgers trade. Gutekunst did the intelligent thing by building the newest version of the Packers in the Love era via the draft versus free agency. This team should be better for it in a few years. 

Gutekunst could still consider bringing in a veteran wide receiver to help Love progress. The Packers have the potential cap to bring in tight end Marcedes Lewis or safety Adrian Amos for this team. But Gutekunst doesn’t seem to think bringing them in will make this Packers team a serious contender.

Sometimes you have to cut your losses for long-term stability. That appears to be what Gutekunst is doing this offseason. That won’t be a failure at all if the Packers are back in the playoffs in 2024. 

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