Smith, Smith and Turner all signed with the Packers in 2019, signaling a shift in the Packers’ front office strategy after years of virtually sitting out free agency. While all three remained largely productive over the last three seasons, the Packers needed to make the moves because they were so far over the league’s salary cap.
Releasing Turner and Za’Darius Smith will reportedly save the team about $19.1 million in cap space, while reworking Preston Smith’s contract will also lower his cap hit for the next season, giving the team an additional $8 million in salary cap savings.
Even with Monday’s moves, the Packers are still about $17 million over the salary cap, but much of that could be made up with whatever new contract Rodgers ultimately signs.
The Packers could also create some salary cap space by agreeing to a long-term contract with Davante Adams, who the team used the franchise tag on last week. Adams reportedly does not want to play on the franchise tag, which guarantees a player the average salary of the top five players at their position. The Packers likely also would prefer Adams not play on the franchise tag, since a long-term contract could be structured in a way to help the team stay under the salary cap for the upcoming season before increasing in value.
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