Understanding the Green Bay Packers’ needs and offseason plans first requires knowing where the roster stands exiting the 2021 season and entering 2022.
Going through position by position helps paint a clear picture of what GM Brian Gutekunst is facing this offseason, both from a personnel and salary cap standpoint.
Here’s our breakdown of the Packers’ roster at the running back position, with players under contract for 2022, free agents, early thoughts on the position group and a unique cap perspective from Ken Ingalls, a CPA who studies the salary cap:
Roster analysis
Under contract (4): Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon, Kylin Hill, Patrick Taylor
Free agents (0): None
Early thoughts: This might be the most stable position on the entire roster. Jones and Dillon return as the 1-2 punch after each gained over 1,000 total yards in 2021, and both Hill and Taylor have flashed the skillsets necessary to be a capable No. 3 running back. There is depth, young talent and cheap contracts, and no free agents to worry about. The Packers could go into 2022 with the best backfield in football.
Ken’s cap perspective
The running back room is locked and loaded with the Packers having their top four players back under contract this season and with their top three in Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon and Kylin Hill all locked up through at least 2023. Jones has the 10th highest cap hit on the current roster at almost $9 million and is a lock to restructure his contract to free up between $2.5-3.1 million for 2022. Dillion, Hill and Taylor are all on cheap rookie or minimum deals ineligible for any cap-saving restructures and are all likely on this roster for training camp. The Packers could add another name via the draft, but as immediate needs go this group is one of the lowest.
