CONTRACT TERMINATION: Five Packers Who Will Not Return in 2024…

The Green Bay Packers must focus on the offseason now that they are formally eliminated from the NFL playoffs.

The Pack are a squad to watch going forward as Jordan Love is beginning to live up to his extraordinary physical

skill. They shocked a lot of pundits in 2023. Still, there are some issues with the roster.

The Packers are expected to have roughly $8 million in cap space available at the start of the offseason. It goes

without saying that some cap adjustments and contract restructurings will increase that figure. However, there will

be some difficult choices to make, some free agents will be let go, and there will be budget cuts. Here are five Packers

that we believe won’t be on the club in 2024.

Savage had an outstanding rookie season in 2019 and appeared to be an All-Pro candidate. He had a strong

performance in 2020 as a follow-up, but he hasn’t been the same player since. The 26-year-old is eligible for free

agency this offseason, but the Packers aren’t interested in re-signing him because of his lackluster play. In 2023, he

performed passably, but not to the extent that Green Bay needs to keep him. He receives an overall grade of 66.3

from Pro Football Focus.

This offseason, the Packers definitely need to address the safety position. Fortunately, there ought to be a wide range

of choices available. Although Anthony Johnson Jr., a rookie, may be the solution in one position, Green Bay will still

need to find another guy capable of starting. Savage hasn’t performed well enough to return, unless it’s as part of a

quick, low-risk contract. More is probably out there for him.

Deguara was selected by the Packers in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and well, things didn’t go as planned.

He was intended to be a hybrid tight end/H-back, similar to Kyle Juszczyk of San Francisco. That was not the case.

The pinnacle of Deguara’s brief career was achieved in 2021 when he caught 25 catches for 245 yards and two scores.

He has eight catches for 65 yards in 2023, and his playing time has drastically decreased.

Matt LaFleur was never able to develop Deguara into a valuable, flexible player for the offense, so Green Bay

squandered a pick on him. It’s necessary to have a change of scenery, but perhaps Deguara can succeed somewhere

else in a typical tight end role.

Runyan, a sixth-round selection in 2020, has started all three seasons at guard for the Packers, recording 50 starts

over that span. Over those years, he has gotten worse and worse. He started out with a PFF rating of 65.1 in 2021; it

fell to 62.6 in 2022 and then to 54.7 in 2023. This offseason is his contract’s expiration, therefore the Packers must

look for a stronger substitute.

Runyan, who is only 26 years old, has the necessary build and ancestry to make an excellent guard. However, he

lacks natural athleticism, struggles to find defenders at the second level, and his struggles have gotten worse as his

career has gone on. For the Packers, 50 starts from a sixth-round pick is a tremendous return on investment, but

Runyan must go.

When the Packers selected Dillon in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, it took the league by surprise. Since

they already had Aaron Jones, they gave him a large contract at the beginning of 2021. Since then, Dillon has served

as a backup. In 2021, he had his greatest season ever, rushing for 803 yards and five touchdowns at an average of 4.3

yards per carry. He also add 2 touchdowns and 313 yards on 34 receptions. But he has had difficulty in 2023. His

average carry average was a pitiful 3.4 yards, but he still finished the regular season with 613 yards and two

touchdowns. In addition, he has 22 receptions for 233 yards.

Dillon is scheduled to become a free agent, and a late-round selection or an inexpensive free agent could easily

replace him. He’ll probably move on to something else. A team must exist that would benefit from having a player

that can sprint like a dump truck with a helmet on.

In 2021, Newman was selected in the fourth round of the draft and made 16 starts at right guard. Even though his

PFF grade was only 55.7, he demonstrated promise. After that, the Packers turned him into a bit of a swingman, and

he hasn’t exactly remained on the line. He has started eight games in the past two years—six in 2022 and two this

season—since then. His PFF grade peaked at 44.3 in 2023 after standing at 57.5 in 2022. I’m not convinced this is

still valuable.

Since Newman has a contract until the 2020–21 season, the Packers’ only cap hit if they decide to cut him would be

the $124,836 signing bonus. Letting him go would clear more than $1 million. It feels like the right thing to do.