It has been a busy time for the Green Bay Packers as their pre season preparations continue for the forthcoming 2025 NFL campaign and the week one opener with the New York Jets
Packers Offseason Roster Decisions
Alex Hale
General Manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed that the decision had been taken on Monday. Hale joined the franchise during the 2024 Packers offseason training camp and he was on their practice squad last season as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program but he has now been released after picking up an injury to his eye that will see him spend multiple weeks on the sidelines.
Zach Tom
While they will now seek a replacement and fans who like the sportsbooks can check the odds out on how that replacement might be, or even have a gamble on volleyball bets if that is your kind of thing, it has not been ruled out that they may re-sign him when he has completed his recovery and rehabilitation period but the news came on a day when there was another breaking item, and this one would delight Packers fans as Zach Tom has now reached a four-year agreement for an $88 million extension to his deal. It has been speculated for much of the Packers offseason when Tom would ink his name.
The 26-year-old fourth year right tackle was quite coy on what the future would hold just a month ago as he would not enter into talks with the media on whether or not he would be insisting on a new contract with the Packers prior to the season beginning, but that particularly topic is now very much redundant with his new deal said to include a $30.2 million signing bonus that is now widely believe to be the largest ever so far for an offensive linesman.
It does not break the record by much as the Washington Commanders’ Laremy Tunsil, and former Packers tackle David Bakhtiari (back in 2020) had the previous highest bonus at $30 million in their extensions.
Discussions and negotiations on the new deal were wrapped up one day prior to the Packers veterans being scheduled to report for this years’ training camp, and Tom had been taking part in the offseason workout program as opposed to waiting for the new deal to be done before he made his own return, and fans will read into that as each party being very happy with their discussions about the future, as he had said himself that sitting out the valuable offseason work would be of no benefit to him, nor the team as a whole as they look to the year ahead and the battles that will be had.
Having finished third in the All Pro voting amongst right tackles and just behind the Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell and Philadelphia Eagles’ Lane Johnson, he will be looking forward to having another successful 2025 and Packers coach Matt LaFleur is already on record as believing that he will do just that, particularly with the versatility that he brings to the team, as well as all the physical and intellectual talents that he brings to the field of play.
It could be an interesting season for the Packers with the changes that have already been made in an effort to improve their performance levels, and it will soon be time to sit back and watch how it works out for them.
