Paul Bretl | 11/6/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers have Super Bowl aspirations and believe they are built to contend for a title. However, as is often the case in Green Bay, there wasn’t an acquisition made at the NFL’s trade deadline. In fact, they would technically fall in the selling category, trading away Preston Smith.
There are numerous factors that have to align when it comes to making a trade deadline deal, but the Packers decision not to acquire a player is two-fold: they like the depth that they have on the roster already and there just weren’t many opportunities for acquiring significant players.
“These things (trade talks) start four, five, six weeks before now,” said Brian Gutekunst on Tuesday, “and so as we went through it, I kind of assumed that it was going to be very quiet, and it very much was this year. I think those initial conversations, they can change, but as we monitored going through it, I think it was kind of pretty steady that it was going to be quiet. Acquiring any significant players, there wasn’t going to be a lot of opportunity to do that.”
Gutekunst has said since he began his tenure as Packers’ general manager that he wants to be in on every conversation. But it takes two to tango, as they say. The Packers may have interest in someone, but that doesn’t mean the organization is willing to part with that player.
Gutekunst has also discussed previously the importance of having a set price, in terms of what he is willing to give up, and not deviating from that, essentially taking any emotion or the feeling of ‘I have to add to this position group’ out of the equation. And for an organization that prioritizes drafting and developing, and has done particularly well in that area the last few years, parting with significant draft capital is likely rarely to be a preferred method for doing business.
“It’s not a store you can go in and pick and choose,” said Gutekunst of the trade deadline. “Those guys have got to be available and there just wasn’t a ton available this year. We always look at a lot of things, have some conversations, talk to people, but not a lot materialized this year.”
If there were two positions that Green Bay could have potentially added to, it was pass rusher and cornerback. The Packers’ inability to generate steady pressure with a four-man rush has been an issue this season, while the cornerback position without Jaire Alexander on the field becomes a much bigger question mark.
However, a lack of overall options on the trade market, coupled with what Gutekunst believes is a deep roster, reduced the number of opportunities to make an addition. The only cornerback traded on Tuesday other than Marshon Lattimore was Tre’Davious White, and it’s certainly possible that the Packers didn’t feel he was an upgrade over Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine, not to mention that the team likes what they’ve gotten from Keisean Nixon and Javon Bullard.
“Those guys have done a great job this year,” said Gutekunst of Javon Bullard and Keisean Nixon. “Bull, for a rookie, he’s just done an excellent job when he’s put in the nickel. The ability for him to play safety and nickel and what’s put on that guy for a young player to do what he’s done is really exciting what he’s done already, where he’s about to go. So that’s been good for us.
“Again, Keisean hasn’t played a ton of outside corner for us and he was kind of put in that position and I think he’s done a really good job for us. He’s got excellent instincts, he can take the ball away. So yeah, I’m really happy with him out there as well.”
Also in play, I believe, is organizational philosophy. In part, the Packers traded Rasul Douglas last season to get a better look at Valentine and provide Stokes with a more clear path to playing time. This year, a similar move was made by trading Preston Smith, which now gives Arron Mosby and Brenton Cox more opportunities. Again, circling back to White, as an example, acquiring a veteran player would likely reduce the number of opportunities for developing players.
As we’ve heard both Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur mention countless times, the best way for a young player to grow is with in-game reps.
“Yeah, we’re excited to see both of those guys, see some more snaps,” said Gutekunst of Cox and Mosby. “I think certainly they’ve earned it. I thought they did a really nice job in training camp, and they’ve continued that through practice, and I think Mosby’s done a really nice job on teams for us. Brenton’s just really, I think he’s eager, and we’re eager to see him.”
Now, having said all of that, whether or not the pass rush improves over the second half of the season or the cornerback room finds more consistency with its depth remains to be seen. But from a process standpoint at this trade deadline, whether Gutekunst is proven right or wrong, the Packers’ belief in their roster and how they develop players, along with there not being many players available, led to another mostly-quiet trade deadline for Green Bay.
“I do,” said Gutekunst when asked if the current roster is built to contend. “I think a lot of the moves you saw today were reactions to injuries and things like that where you’re missing things. But yeah, no, I really like our group. Obviously we do a lot of work prior to the season to try to make sure that we’re a deep team that can sustain an entire season and if we have injuries that we don’t have to go outside of the building to fulfil that and I feel we’ve done that and I feel really good about our football team. I like our depth.”