GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brian Gutekunst still has some Ted Thompson in him when it comes to free agency.
Remember when the former Green Bay Packers general manager went four straight years (2013-16) without signing an unrestricted free agent from another team?
Don't expect Gutekunst to start taking vacations in mid-March, but he's working on his second straight free-agent period with little or no activity. That shouldn't come as a big surprise given what he was up against with the Packers' salary cap, but he said shortly before free agency that "we won't be able to do a lot, and there'll certainly be some restrictions, but if the right guy's there, I think we'd be able to do what we need to do."
The right guy must have been Aaron Jones, the Pro Bowl running back who signed a four-year, $48 million deal to stay in Green Bay. It's really more like a two-year, $20 million deal.
A week into free agency, Gutekunst has made two significant moves: paying Jones and bringing back cornerback Kevin King on a one-year deal worth up to $6 million. Twenty-nine teams in the NFL signed at least one player from another team during the first week of free agency. The Packers were one of the three teams that did not.
We are down to only three NFL teams that have not yet signed a free agent from another team:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 20, 2021
Bucs: the champs have kept the band together, while also extending Tom Brady
Packers: kept star RB Aaron Jones for 4-years, $48M
Rams: the big splash was acquiring QB Matthew Stafford
Two years ago, Gutekunst, who learned under Thompson and Ron Wolf, made a massive leap into free agency when he made $182 million worth of deals in about 24 hours with the addition of Adrian Amos, Preston Smith, Za'Darius Smith and Billy Turner.
Last year, his only unrestricted free-agent signing from another team was receiver Devin Funchess, who then took the COVID-19 opt-out. Funchess' contract tolled and at this point, he's still in the mix to compete for a roster spot.
Those big four free-agent contracts from 2019 combined with the pandemic's impact on the salary cap caught up with the Packers, who rarely -- if ever -- got caught in the position of having to make moves strictly for cap purposes. They had to rework the contracts of all four of those 2019 free agents, with Preston Smith actually taking a pay cut, and release linebacker Christian Kirksey and tackle Rick Wagner just to put themselves in position to sign Jones.
They never had a chance to re-sign center Corey Linsley, who priced himself out of Green Bay with his All-Pro season. He signed with the Los Angeles Chargers for $12.5 million a year.
The Packers might still be able to make a play for an outside free agent or at least bring back some of their own unsigned free agents (tight Marcedes Lewis probably heads that list).
Before any of that happens, here are some factors to consider:
Aaron Rodgers' future beyond 2021: The Packers have additional ways to create extra cap space for this year, but anything they do with existing contracts would eat up cap space in future years. Perhaps that's why they didn't convert Rodgers' $6.8 million roster bonus that was due last Friday into a signing bonus. That would have created more than $4.5 million in cap space for this season but would have increased Rodgers' cap numbers for 2022 and 2023. Perhaps they're working on an extension for Rodgers, but it's also possible they want to be able to move on from him after this season without adding more dead money to future years.
Extending Davante Adams: The Packers' go-to receiver is entering the final year of his deal and is slated to count $16,787,500 on this year's salary cap. They no doubt plan to have him around beyond just this season considering he's in the prime of his career at age 28, so extending his contract now would make sense. They would be able to lower his cap number for this season.
More roster cuts: There are still players on the roster who could be released whether it's now or after June 1 (or now with the post-June 1 designation). One candidate is defensive end Dean Lowry, who has a $6.3 million cap charge this season. They would pick up $3.3 million in cap space if they released him now or $4.8 million after June 1 (or if they designated him a June 1 release). The problem is their lack of depth on the defensive line, so perhaps they would wait until after the draft to assess that position.
What to do at cornerback: One thing to watch for is how new defensive coordinator Joe Barry uses safety Darnell Savage. There were some who thought Savage could play in the slot as a cornerback when he came out of college, and Savage might be suited for that role -- what Barry calls the "star" position. Considering they have a pair of backup safeties they like in Vernon Scott and Henry Black who otherwise might not get on the field, moving Savage could be an option.