![\"Kirk](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/03\/23153557\/GettyImages-2249207426-1024x685.jpg?width=1920&quality=70&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nFree agency has quieted, but roster churning never truly stops.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a 365-day exercise for Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and his 31 counterparts around the league, even as the 2026 draft sits less than one month away.<\/p>\n
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While most marquee names have found homes, new or old, there is plenty of quality still on the open market with NFL executives and coaches set to descend upon Phoenix, Ariz., next week for the league\u2019s annual meeting.<\/p>\n
Here are seven veteran players who could still fit with the Packers as they look to fine-tune their roster.<\/p>\n
The Packers are probably set at defensive end\/outside linebacker (we don\u2019t know exactly what the position will be called under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon), but maybe Gutekunst wants to add a veteran as he did with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. After trading Rashan Gary and letting Kingsley Enagbare walk, Green Bay\u2019s depth behind Micah Parsons consists of Lukas Van Ness, the 2023 first-round pick yet to truly break out, 2025 Day 3 picks Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, and Brenton Cox Jr, who had four sacks in seven games in 2024 but missed the majority of last season with an injury. If Parsons misses the first couple of games of the season, can that group hold down the fort? And even when Parsons is back, does Gutekunst trust the others to perform well enough for the Packers to be considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender?<\/p>\n
As Daniel Popper notes in his free-agent rankings, Clowney is still a viable No. 2 edge defender after a 2025 season in which the 33-year-old ranked fourth among all players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps with a 19.1-percent pressure rate. He also had 8.5 sacks and eight combined tackles for loss and run stuffs.<\/p>\n
Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love and Malik Willis have all been backup quarterbacks for the Packers. All three could be starting in the NFL come September. Green Bay really values the position, which might make it unlikely that Desmond Ridder or Kyle McCord \u2014 the only other quarterbacks on the roster besides Love \u2014 are in the No. 2 role come Week 1. Could one of them seize the job with a strong offseason? Sure. It wasn\u2019t until late August 2024 that the Packers traded for Willis since their plan of backing up Love with Sean Clifford or Michael Pratt didn\u2019t pan out. It\u2019s not far-fetched to think Ridder and McCord will also get a fair shot.<\/p>\n
The idea of adding a proven veteran like Cousins, who can at least help the Packers tread water if Love goes down, might entice head coach Matt LaFleur. Cousins might (understandably) want to sign with a team whose starter is less entrenched than Love, but perhaps the idea of reuniting with his position coach from his first two years in the NFL (LaFleur) entices him, too.<\/p>\n
Luke Musgrave once looked like the next potent downfield threat at tight end for the Packers, but those days are long gone. There was a noticeable drop-off in production at the position after Tucker Kraft tore his ACL in Week 9, which might spur Gutekunst to address what he has behind Kraft, who should be back by Week 1. Njoku isn\u2019t the best blocker, but Popper writes of the former Cleveland Browns tight end, \u201cNjoku is an explosive height-weight-speed athlete, particularly after the catch. He has contested-catch ability down the field. He has tremendous feet in and out of breaks.\u201d Njoku\u2019s production dipped with rookie Harold Fannin Jr. emerging in Cleveland last season, but the veteran has 97 catches for 798 yards and nine touchdowns over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
The Packers will need to address the position, anyway, since John FitzPatrick, primarily a blocking tight end last season who played 335 offensive snaps, tore his Achilles tendon in Week 16.<\/p>\n
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David Njoku had 34 touchdowns in his nine seasons with the Browns. (Kirby Lee \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The former Arizona Cardinals starting right tackle is only 28 years old, but played just 15 games combined in 2024 and 2025 because of injuries after signing a two-year, $30 million deal in March 2024. With Zach Tom amid a lengthy rehab process after undergoing surgery for a partially torn patellar tendon \u2014 he should be ready by training camp \u2014 the Packers might want insurance at right tackle. Williams would be a solid option to go along with swing tackle Darian Kinnard. If Gutekunst and LaFleur need a reference, they can ask their new defensive coordinator, who was Williams\u2019 head coach in Arizona (maybe he wouldn\u2019t have a glowing review, but who knows).<\/p>\n
What if Jordan Morgan doesn\u2019t work out at left tackle? That would be alarming for the Packers for multiple reasons \u2014 Gutekunst\u2019s 2024 first-round pick could then be considered a bust, and they\u2019d need someone on relatively short notice to protect the blind side of their $220 million quarterback \u2014 but they\u2019d need a solution, nonetheless. The Packers theoretically could move 2025 second-round pick Anthony Belton from right guard to left tackle, the position he played at North Carolina State, but Gutekunst said this offseason he wants Belton to stay at right guard for the near future. Morgan could very well thrive at his natural position of left tackle, so that could be a moot point.<\/p>\n
In either scenario, a 30-year-old veteran like Robinson with 114 career starts at left tackle could fortify the Packers\u2019 offensive line depth that is lacking. Popper writes of the former Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars starter, \u201cRobinson has a firm, violent initial punch, and his best pass-protection reps are when he is able to strike first into a rusher\u2019s chest. But he gets caught off-balance and leaning over his toes too often in the run game and in pass protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Packers need a new backup running back after letting Emanuel Wilson walk. Chris Brooks and MarShawn Lloyd are still on the team, but the former is more of a situational third-down back who excels in pass protection and the latter can\u2019t be trusted yet with how often he\u2019s been injured in his first two seasons. The Packers could fill this spot through the draft with a potential future starter, but Carter also has familiarity with Gannon and had 92 carries for 333 yards (3.6 YPC) and a touchdown last season to go along with 33 catches for 267 yards.<\/p>\n
An underrated need for the Packers is safety. Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams form one of the league\u2019s best one-two punches, but their depth took a hit when Zayne Anderson followed Jeff Hafley to Miami after the Packers declined to tender him as a restricted free agent. Javon Bullard can play safety, but he focused more on nickel last season and excelled there. Woods, 31, has seven interceptions and 16 passes defensed with 41 starts over the last three seasons. He, like others before him on this list, would classify as a short-term veteran signing that Gutekunst is open to despite his preference for adding players in their prime, aged 26-29. However, with the Packers in win-now mode and already showing a willingness to add players like Hargrave, there could be more to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Free agency has quieted, but roster churning never truly stops. It\u2019s a 365-day exercise for Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and his 31 counterparts around… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":168571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n