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Tulane QB Michael Pratt Goes No. 245 Overall To Packers

April 27th, 2024 at 5:55pm CST by Ely Allen

The 11th quarterback off the board will be Tulane passer Michael Pratt. After waiting around for six rounds, Pratt gets selected at No. 245 overall in the seventh round by the Packers.

In college, Pratt was a four-year starter for the Green Wave. He earned Freshman All-American honors in 2020, starting nine games during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season. His most productive season came two years later when Pratt earned second-team All-AAC honors with 3,010 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and only five interceptions, adding 478 yards and 10 scores on the ground. He followed that up with first-team All-AAC and ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, despite not matching his prior year numbers.

In Green Bay, Pratt will work to earn a role as a backup behind starter Jordan Love. Pratt’s game matches up decently with Love’s style of play, but he’ll have to compete with fellow seventh-round pick Alex McGough, who came out of Florida International in 2018, and last year’s fifth-round pick Sean Clifford out of Penn State. McGough has yet to make an NFL appearance despite getting drafted six years ago. Clifford took the primary backup position for the Packers in 2023, making two regular season, garbage time appearances as a rookie and doing the same in the team’s win over the Cowboys in the postseason.

Pratt will have an opportunity to push Clifford for the backup role. Despite his late-Day 3 selection, he was projected to go in the third or fourth round, so the talent is clearly there. If he fails to beat out Clifford, Pratt should have a decent chance to beat out McGough for a practice squad spot and a chance to be elevated on gamedays as the Packers’ emergency quarterback.

Packers Trade Up To No. 163, Draft Duke C Jacob Monk

April 27th, 2024 at 2:25pm CST by Ely Allen

The Packers saw the need to move up five spots in the 2024 NFL Draft today, sending the Bills pick Nos. 168 and 219 in the fifth and sixth round, respectively. The move up resulted in Green Bay adding Duke center Jacob Monk to the roster.

Monk was a five-year starter for the Blue Devils, utilizing his extra year of eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season. He started 58 of 59 game appearances during his time at Duke. Not only does he bring extensive starting experience, but he also brings experience all along the right side of the offensive line. After starting all 12 of his freshman year games at right tackle, he spent the next two years starting at right guard before splitting his time over his last two seasons between right guard and center.

The Packers have Josh Myers as their starting center as the last three years. He’s never graded out phenomenally, according to Pro Football Focus, but he’s not bad enough that Monk should be expected to start in 2024. Monk likely comes in as a backup center and a sixth-man on the offensive line.

Due to his versatility at Duke, Monk has the ability to fill in in a pinch at any position on the line as a backup. If he develops strongly over the next year, there’s a chance that he can take over for Myers, who is playing in a contract year. This gives Green Bay a year to determine its plan at center moving past the 2024 season.

Packers Acquire No. 111, Select Oregon S Evan Williams

April 27th, 2024 at 11:43am CST by Ben Levine

The Packers and Jets have been frequent trade partners in recent years, and the teams have pulled off another deal. The Packers have jumped to No. 111, with New York acquiring picks No. 126 and No. 190.

The Packers will use their new pick on Oregon safety Evan Williams. There’s been a run on Ducks players today, with Williams representing the fourth Oregon player to be selected in the fourth round.

After leading the Fresno State defense for four seasons, Williams transferred to Oregon for the 2023 campaign. He proceeded to earn second team All-Pac-12 honors after compiling 82 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. While the defensive back didn’t posses the same upside as other prospects at the position, his defensive savvy should keep him on NFL rosters.

The Packers have been one of the more active teams through the first two days of the draft, selecting five rookies. The team added Georgia’s Javon Bullard in the second round, and the two rookies will join a new-look safeties room that also features new addition Xavier McKinney.

Saints Obtain No. 41 From Packers, Select CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

April 26th, 2024 at 6:55pm CST by Ely Allen

The second-round pick the Packers acquired in last year’s Aaron Rodgers trade is now the Saints’ property. Green Bay dealt No. 41 to New Orleans, which will add Nos. 45, 168, and 190 for moving down a bit in Round 2.

No. 45 is the pick the Saints obtained from the Broncos in the swap for Sean Payton‘s rights. A year later, the Packers (barring another trade) will use it to bolster their roster.

[RELATED: Saints Expecting To Retain Marshon Lattimore]

With the pick, the Saints are adding Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. This will bring two Crimson Tide corners off the board, with the Lions using their first selection on Terrion Arnold on Thursday night.

McKinstry loomed as a first-round-caliber player going into his final Alabama season after logging 16 passes defensed as a sophomore, but Arnold ended up being viewed as the higher-level prospect following Nick Saban‘s final season.

The fall out of the first round for McKinstry seems to center around the lack of any elite qualities. Still, while there doesn’t see to be any much that McKinstry is elite at, there’s also not much that he does poorly (besides fielding punts). McKinstry does everything well with a high football IQ.

McKinstry will fit well into a talented rotation at cornerback in New Orleans. With Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo set to return as the team’s starters at the position, McKinstry will get to learn and develop under one of the league’s better veterans and a young corner who established himself as a Day 2 pick three years ago. The Saints’ depth at the position isn’t great after Lattimore and Adebo, so trading up to add McKinstry makes sense in the midst of a run of second-round cornerbacks.

Packers Select T Jordan Morgan At No. 25

April 25th, 2024 at 10:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a breakout season from their young offense, the Packers are continuing to add to their core. The team has selected Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan with the 25th pick.

If six quarterbacks had not gone off the board in the first 12 picks, the run on tackles might be this draft’s defining development. Seven are off the board in the draft’s first 25 picks. Not every member of this first-round contingent may play tackle as a rookie, but each did in their final college seasons. Counting Graham Barton, who is expected to slide from Duke left tackle to Buccaneers center, eight edge blockers have gone in the first 26 picks.

Morgan joins a Packers team that cut David Bakhtiari after 11 seasons. Injuries doomed the final years of the former All-Pro’s Green Bay run, with an ACL tear during a New Year’s Eve 2020 practice providing a seminal setback for a team that had recently extended the blindside mainstay. Bakhtiari is unsigned, and Morgan now profiles as a developmental option to eventually succeed him.

Morgan also has an ACL tear in his recent past, having gone down in November 2022. He made an impressive rehab journey, shaking off the major injury to become a first-round pick despite this draft oozing tackle options for teams. A three-year starter at Arizona, Morgan started 37 games at left tackle. His post-ACL journey included a first-team All-Pac-12 nod last season.

Green Bay’s LT situation did not crater after Bakhtiari’s latest absence. Bakhtiari lasted all of one game last season, needing a fifth surgery on his troublesome knee. Rasheed Walker, a 2022 seventh-round pick, stepped in and started 15 games. Pro Football Focus assigned him a middling grade. Walker gives the Packers an option, and the team now has 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard — who has not come especially close to justifying his draft slot in Philadelphia or Nashville — on a veteran-minimum deal. The Packers now have some options, though the team has RT starter Zach Tom tied to a through-2025 contract.

Packers Sign Andre Dillard; T Met With Chiefs

April 25th, 2024 at 7:55am CST by Sam Robinson

APRIL 25: Dillard’s deal contains no signing bonus or any guaranteed money, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. The former Eagles and Titans tackle will be tied to a veteran-minimum accord ($1.13MM for a five-year vet) if he makes Green Bay’s 53-man roster.

APRIL 18: The Titans bailed on their Andre Dillard contract after one season, making the former first-round pick a cap casualty in March. Dillard has not justified his draft status, but the five-year veteran tackle will have another chance in 2024.

Dillard is signing with the Packers; the team announced the move Thursday. The Packers parted ways with 11-year veteran David Bakhtiari, amid a run of knee trouble, and will bring in a player who has experience as a left tackle starter and swingman. Prior to making this Packers commitment, Dillard met with the Chiefs, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.

[RELATED: David Bakhtiari Not Planning To Retire]

Bakhtiari’s latest effort to return from the lingering knee trouble — brought on by the ACL tear sustained during a December 2020 practice — lasted all of one game. The Packers cut Bakhtiari shortly after the legal tampering period began. The Packers are taking on $18.1MM in dead money via the release, which was not a post-June 1 cut; all the Bakhtiari dead cap will hit Green Bay’s payroll in 2024.

Dillard, 28, represents a potential starting option, though his career to this point may make a swing role more appropriate. The Pack also lost swingman Yosh Nijman in free agency; Nijman signed with the Panthers in March.

Known for aiming to move ahead of the curve on their offensive line, the Eagles traded up for Dillard in 2019. But the team’s hopes of having the Washington State alum become Jason Peters‘ heir apparent did not come to fruition. In a lower-profile case that reminds of the 49ers’ Trey Lance–Brock Purdy development, the Eagles found their Peters successor in 2018 seventh-rounder Jordan Mailata. The latter took over, while Dillard became the swingman. Teams inquired about Dillard at multiple trade deadlines, and while he fared well at points replacing Mailata on the left side, the Titans season brought another setback for the former No. 22 overall pick.

The Titans gave Dillard a three-year, $29MM deal to replace Taylor Lewan, but the team wound up benching the free agency pickup midway through the season. Another Titans injury-plagued season involved a number of O-line setbacks, and the team’s plan to slide Nicholas Petit-Frere to the left side preceded an immediate injury. Dillard received another chance but saw rookie Jaelyn Duncan play in front of him as well. Pro Football Focus ranked Dillard 71st among tackles in 2023.

The Chiefs are set to return four members of a quality offensive line. While Jawaan Taylor went through a rocky first season, Kansas City still rosters an elite interior trio (Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith). But the team has not re-signed Donovan Smith, who joined the team as a post-draft stopgap last year. The two-time reigning Super Bowl champs likely will add a left tackle — through free agency or the draft — but Dillard will end up in Green Bay.

As for the Packers, they turned to former seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker as their primary blind-sider (15 starts) in 2023. Bakhtiari suited up for 11 games in 2022 but was done after one last year. With Elgton Jenkins entrenched at guard (after being Bakhtiari’s replacement in 2021), the Pack received interesting work from Walker despite his late-round pedigree. PFF rated Walker just outside the top 40 at tackle and viewed the 2022 draftee as a top-25 pass blocker at the position.

A competition between Walker and Dillard could commence, which would almost definitely — given the latter’s value at present — bring a low-cost matchup. If nothing else, Dillard provides some insurance for a team that saw its LT plan change thanks to Bakhtiari’s run of surgeries.

2025 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker

April 24th, 2024 at 10:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

NFL teams have until May 2 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2021 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of the player’s position, initial draft placement and performance- and usage-based benchmarks:

  • Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
  • One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
  • Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th-highest salaries at their position:
    • At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
    • A 75% snap average across all three seasons
    • At least 50% in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position

With the deadline looming, we will use the space below to track all the option decisions from around the league:

  1. QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars ($25.66MM): Exercised
  2. QB Zach Wilson, Broncos* ($22.41MM): Declined
  3. QB Trey Lance, Cowboys** ($22.41MM): Declined
  4. TE Kyle Pitts, Falcons ($10.88MM): Exercised
  5. WR Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals ($21.82MM): Exercised
  6. WR Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins ($15.59MM): Exercised
  7. T Penei Sewell, Lions ($19MM): Extended through 2029
  8. CB Jaycee Horn, Panthers ($12.47MM): Exercised
  9. CB Patrick Surtain, Broncos ($19.82MM): Exercised
  10. WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles ($15.59MM): Extended through 2028
  11. QB Justin Fields, Steelers*** ($25.66MM): Declined
  12. DE Micah Parsons, Cowboys ($21.32MM): Exercised
  13. T Rashawn Slater, Chargers ($19MM): Exercised
  14. OL Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jets ($13.31MM): Exercised
  15. QB Mac Jones, Jaguars**** ($25.66MM): Declined
  16. LB Zaven Collins, Cardinals ($13.25MM): Declined
  17. T Alex Leatherwood, Raiders: N/A
  18. LB Jaelan Phillips, Dolphins ($13.3MM): Exercised
  19. LB Jamin Davis, Commanders ($14.48MM): Declined
  20. WR Kadarius Toney, Chiefs***** ($14.35MM): Declined
  21. DE Kwity Paye, Colts ($13.4MM): Exercised
  22. CB Caleb Farley, Titans ($12.47MM): Declined
  23. T Christian Darrisaw, Vikings ($16MM): Exercised
  24. RB Najee Harris, Steelers ($6.79MM): Declined
  25. RB Travis Etienne, Jaguars ($6.14MM): Exercised
  26. CB Greg Newsome, Browns ($13.38MM): To be exercised
  27. WR Rashod Bateman, Ravens ($14.35MM): N/A; extended through 2026
  28. DE Payton Turner, Saints ($13.39MM): Declined
  29. CB Eric Stokes, Packers ($12.47MM): Declined
  30. DE Greg Rousseau, Bills ($13.39MM): Exercised
  31. LB Odafe Oweh, Ravens ($13.25MM): Exercised
  32. LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Buccaneers ($13.25MM): Declined

* = Jets traded Wilson on April 22, 2024
** = 49ers traded Lance on August 25, 2023
*** = Bears traded Fields on March 16, 2024
**** = Patriots traded Jones on March 10, 2024
***** = Giants traded Toney on October 27, 2022

Packers Unlikely To Pursue Trading Up?

April 16th, 2024 at 9:31am CST by Adam La Rose

As the countdown to the draft continues, teams around the league are finalizing their strategies for Day 1 in particular. Those which are flush with draft capital are generally among the ones to watch with respect to a trade up the board, but in the case of the Packers such a move may be unlikely.

[RELATED: Packers Planning Late QB Draft Addition]

Green Bay has 11 total selections in 2024, tied for the most picks in the league this year. Coming off a surprise run to the divisional round of the postseason, the Packers’ first-rounder currently sits at No. 25. A trade-up maneuver is of course something which will be considered, but general manager Brian Gutekunst recently expressed hesitancy on that front.

“I think it’s very expensive to do that,” Gutekunst said of an aggressive move up the order (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky). “From what you have to give up to go that far up, you’re giving up a lot. So unless it’s a quarterback or a rare, rare player, I think you have to be careful there. You guys know the numbers, what it takes to get from back in the 20s up into the top 10, you’re giving up quite a bit, and you may think at the time that it’s the right thing to do.

“But to give up the kind of picks you’re going to have to do, which are probably going to be future picks and you don’t know what’s going to transpire down the road and what you might need, it’s never really made a ton of sense for me.”

The Packers own two selections in each of the second and third rounds owing to the Aaron Rodgers and Rasul Douglas trades. That capital could help the team jump ahead of others slated to pick in the middle of the first round, or at least pull off a small move higher in the 20s. The latter type of deal is one being considered by the Buccaneers – who own the 26th selection – but Gutekunst’s comments suggest Green Bay (a team which is positioned to continue its youth movement this April) is less likely to surrender Day 2 or 3 capital.

In other Green Bay draft news, a linebacker addition appears to be in play after Round 1. ESPN’s Jordan Reid reports that finding a new starter to pair with Quay Walker (with De’Vondre Campbell having been released) “seems to be high on the priority list.” No LB prospects in this year’s class are expected to hear their names called on Day 1, but a number of options after that point will be available for Green Bay, especially if no first round trade-up takes place. Reid names Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper and Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace as players who could be on the Packers’ radar.

WR Rashard Higgins, LB Christian Kirksey To Retire As Browns

April 16th, 2024 at 8:49am CST by Adam La Rose

Both wideout Rashard Higgins and linebacker Christian Kirksey have officially decided to hang up their cleats, but they will do so as members of the team which drafted them. Both players will sign one-day contracts with the Browns, the team announced on Tuesday.

Higgins spent his first six years in Cleveland, serving as a complementary receiver along the way. His best campaign came in 2020, when he posted 37 catches for 599 yards and four touchdowns. His 16.2 yards per catch average demonstrated his ability as a vertical threat, but by 2022 signs pointed to a free agent departure.

Indeed, the former fifth-rounder signed with the Panthers on a one-year deal that offseason. Higgins, 29, appeared in only three games that year, however. He was out of the league for the past campaign, and instead of pursuing a comeback, he will end his NFL run with roughly $8.3MM in career earnings.

Kirksey signed with the Bills ahead of the 2023 season, aiming to join a contender. His time in Buffalo proved to be very short-lived, though, and in September he informed the team of his intention to retire. That move was not officially made during the campaign, as evidenced by today’s news, but the former third-rounder was not on the field with any team last season.

Over the course of six years with the Browns, Kirksey started 54 of 73 games. He eclipsed 100 tackles twice in that span (2016 and ’17), doing so again during his 2022 performance with the Texans. In both Cleveland and Houston, the Iowa product earned his team’s nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Kirksey remained a full-time starter during his single season with the Packers in 2020, as well as his two campaigns as a Texan. The 31-year-old spent much of his career on rebuilding teams, and he was released halfway through his most lucrative pact (a four-year, $38MM Browns extension signed in 2017). Still, he made an NFC championship game appearance with Green Bay and accumulated just over $39MM during his career.

“We are thrilled that Rashard and Christian wanted to come back and retire as Cleveland Browns,” a team statement reads. “Both players obviously made an impact on the field, but they each made a lasting impression in the Cleveland community as well. It’s a testament to who they are as individuals, and we are honored to have them retire as part of our Browns family.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/15/24

April 15th, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: OL Lorenz Metz

Washington Commanders

Today marks the first day for teams with holdover HCs to begin offseason programs. That date frequently coincides with restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents officially coming back into the fold. McCloud’s signing and Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson inking his second-round tender leaves 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, also given a Round 2 tender, as the lone unsigned RFA. McCloud will be tied to a nonguaranteed $2.99MM salary.

A former UDFA out of Michigan State, Bachie has been with the Bengals for the past three seasons. The young linebacker has been a regular special-teamer in that time; over the past two seasons, Bachie has been on the field for more than 60% of Cincinnati’s ST plays.

The Commanders signed Tyler Ott in free agency. The longtime Seahawks snapper spent 2023 with the Ravens; the veteran staying in the Mid-Atlantic region will lead to Addington — a three-game Washington long snapper in 2023 — being moved off the roster.

Murtaugh and Metz are coming to the NFL via the league’s International Pathway Program. Murtaugh hails from Australia and has a background in Australian Rules Football. He spent a bit of time with the Lions in 2023. A German, Metz spent time with the Bears last year but did not make their roster. He was not with a team during the season. If Murtaugh and Metz fail to make their respective team’s 53-man roster, they can be carried as a 17th practice squad player via the IPP program.

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