The Green Bay Packers are notorious for their cap gymnastics. With key players due for extensions and the nature of the cap space staring every team in the face, finding quality talent on budget-friendly deals is crucial.

The team’s already gotten their superstars in this free agency class. They’ve picked up Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney to replace the departing Aaron Jones and David Bahktiari. With Mike Williams and potentially Khalil Mack hitting the market, they could chase after those players themselves.

But the cheap veterans are still important. With the projected $15 million they have left in cap space, there are a few guys they can still sign. They have enough players at this point, and they’ll add more via the draft, so they can still get some of these smaller but nonetheless important pieces if they want to.

Jadeveon Clowney

The focus on defense has been the porous secondary, but Green Bay needs a pass-rush boost and Clowney can still be a force. He’s a veteran leader who thrives on short deals, potentially allowing the Packers to fit him under the cap.

While not the sack machine he was promised to be, his presence creates mismatches and frees up Gary and Van Ness. He’s always been elite at drawing double teams and being a dominant run-stuffer. It’s a win-now move for a contender looking for an edge rush upgrade.

Corardelle Patterson

This is as good a sleeper move as Green Bay could make. The team has receivers, so adding someone dynamic like Patterson would bring something unique to LaFleur’s playbook.

Corardelle can line up as a receiver, a running back, and a kick returner. This versatility gives Matt LaFleur Shanahan-like offensive scheming options and keeps defenses guessing, which is needed in today’s West Coast offensive schemes.

He also has championship experience and leadership, playing in New England for a limited time and learning from the masters of discipline in Brady and Belichick.

Marquise Brown

Brown would bring blazing speed to a somewhat slow receiving corps. This could open up the deep passing game for Jordan Love and create explosive plays. As previously mentioned, Matt LaFleur’s offense thrives on movement and creating mismatches. Brown’s ability to line up inside or outside and win on vertical routes could complement the likes of Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs nicely.

Marquise would be fairly cheap as well, only costing the team a few million.

With that being said, Brown has struggled with consistency throughout his career. While he has the talent for big plays, he can also disappear in big games. Not the playoffs, though, as his production increases nearly threefold in the postseason.

Kevin Zeitler

While the Bahktiari move has scared Packers fans into focusing on the tackle position, the interior line remains a problem. Zeitler is getting up there in age, but there’s no doubt he’d be a centerpiece to help keep Jordan upright while the team gets younger on the edges of the OL.

Yes, The Green Bay Packers Could Sign Jimmy Garoppolo. But Should They?

Talking about a luxury selection, this would be the luxury of all luxuries. Jimmy’s a backup at this point in his career, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. Due to his Super Bowl experience, he’ll be somewhat expensive, but totally worth it. Jordan will be learning from someone who played in a nearly identical system which will help him navigate around things on and off the field.

If Love ever goes down, Packers fans shouldn’t be too worried. While Jimmy gets all the hate in the world, he has a reputation as being someone who wins ugly – but he still wins. Even as messy as things were last year, he still was 4-3 with a pretty bad Raiders team. Had he stuck around when Antonio Pierce took over, the Raiders may have been a contender for the 7th seed. Regardless, he would help the Packers stay afloat while Love heals – which is what a backup is supposed to do.