Getting rid of one of our best defenders for two mid-round draft picks reeks of the front office wanting to tank this season in hopes of getting high enough in the draft to draft a top tier QB.
It’s all about the salary cap. $7m plus savings, next year was the last year on his deal at which point he would be a 30 year old corner and have to be replaced anyway. We move up 40-50 spots in the draft.
The Packers now will have 5 top 100 picks in 2024, plus any compensatory picks (ie Allen Lazard). This is about building for a core next year and building on that in 2025 when the vast majority of our dead cap expires. I get the move since we are a couple of years away from really competing and he was not part of the long term plan.
Also not a part of our long term plan: Bakh, Aaron Jones, Preston Smith. They will be unloaded this off season as well.
Here’s another article that specifically calls out this trade as being a move the GM could only make if they knew they had job security. It actually says “mulligan season,” like the entire front office never thought they’d be above 500 anyway.