4 Moves Green Bay Packers Should Have Made This Offseason

The Green Bay Packers made a dizzying number of moves this offseason, despite not being active participants in free agency.

The Packers re-signed key pieces in Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga. Head coach Mike McCarthy gave up play-calling and promoted former offensive coordinator Tom Clements to associate head coach (offense).

McCarthy fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum and promoted his assistant Ron Zook. Edgar Bennett, former wide receivers coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator, and Alex Van Pelt became the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach.

The Packers headed into the draft with nine selections and left with eight players, trading a sixth-round pick for quarterback Brett Hundley. They signed nearly 20 undrafted free agents, many of whom remain on the offseason roster and will head into training camp to compete for a spot on the team.

There's not much else the Packers could have tackled this offseason, but the following are four ideas.

Two would be slight corrections of past moves, while the other two are moves the team could still make this summer. After all, there's no use in dwelling too much on what has already come to pass.

Address Tight End Earlier or More Aggressively

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Even before Packers tight end Andrew Quarless got arrested in Florida over Fourth of July weekend for firing a gun in public during an argument with two women, as first reported by the Miami New Times' Tim Elfrink, the Packers weren't in great shape at tight end.

Though the position was a need heading into the offseason, the Packers didn't look at the available free agents—including Julius Thomas, Charles Clay, Lance Kendricks, Jordan Cameron, Owen Daniels, Scott Chandler and James Casey at price points ranging from $9.2 million a year to $1.25 million, while Jermaine Gresham is still unsigned.

In the draft, the Packers could have looked at skilled potential future starters in Maxx Williams, Clive Walford or Jeff Heuerman but instead selected Kennard Backman, who was projected to go undrafted by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, in Round 6.

No one has a crystal ball, and the Packers couldn't have known Quarless was going to get into legal troubles during the offseason.

But he or Richard Rodgers could have gotten injured during camp, and it would have left the Packers in the same bind they're in now.

ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported that, per two sources, the Packers don't plan to release Quarless. They can still use him and Rodgers in two-TE sets or perhaps give Rodgers more starts this season (he had five in 2014). Quarless may also face jail time or punishment from the league that would cause him to miss time.

But having more options at the position would have increased its strength.

Behind Quarless and Rodgers, the group consists of rookie Backman, former practice squad player Justin Perillo and undrafted rookies Mitchell Henry and Harold Spears.

Extend Mike Daniels

There's still time for the Packers to begin talks about a contract extension for defensive leader Mike Daniels this summer. He has definitely earned it.

Daniels is entering the final year of his contract. Over the last three seasons, the former fourth-round pick has become a core member of the team, starting all 16 games in 2014 with 29 total tackles and 5.5 sacks.

Daniels finished the 2014 season ranked as the eighth-best 3-4 defensive end in the league and has become a leader in the locker room.

"I came here to play football. I came here to eventually start. I've been waiting for this. I'm certain about myself and the guys lining up with us, that we can get the job done," Daniels said at the end of the 2014 season, per Packers.com's Vic Ketchman.

It's unclear what general manager Ted Thompson's strategy would be in regards to Daniels. He has signed some players, such as Jordy Nelson and Morgan Burnett, in the offseason to lock them down. He has allowed others to finish the season to assess their level of performance.

If the Packers go the latter route, however, they could find that other teams are willing to pay more for Daniels, who has become an elite interior rusher, in free agency than they'd like to match.

The Packers currently have about $15.7 million in cap space remaining.

Extend Casey Hayward 

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Casey Hayward could have his first season as a full-time starter in 2015, depending on the status of his health during training camp. He's currently dealing with a foot injury that caused him to miss OTAs and minicamp, which calls up memories of his missed camp in 2013 with a hamstring injury.

The hope this time, however, is that Hayward will be ready to go to start training camp.

"So whenever I'm healthy and on the field, I'm going to be full go and I'm going to be ready to compete and not just be a starting corner, be the No. 1 corner," Hayward said in May, per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

It may not be the best environment in which to consider Hayward's contract extension, but the Packers will have to start thinking about it soon.

The team saw that the Jacksonville Jaguars were willing to pay Davon House $6.25 million per year in free agency. If Hayward spends even half his season starting on the outside, he'll command similar attention next spring.

Before committing the cash to Hayward, however, the Packers will want to monitor both his health and the progress of their rookie cornerbacks.

Let Brett Hundley Fall to Them in the Draft 

Green Bay went after Hundley aggressively in the draft, trading up 19 spots in the fifth round to ensure they would get him.

"We like the prospect. We felt we got good value in the trade," Packers director of pro personnel Eliot Wolf said after the selection, per Packers.com. "Big, athletic guy. Strong arm. A lot of upside. We expected him to get drafted a lot higher. Fortunately, he was there."

At the time, the move seemed shrewd. The Packers seemed likely to carry two quarterbacks behind Aaron Rodgers again this season, and Hundley is a prospect whom head coach Mike McCarthy could develop in his offseason quarterback school.

But trading up for Hundley handcuffed the Packers in some ways, too. Because of the investment, he is virtually a lock to make the 53-man roster. However, he's currently last on the depth chart.

According to Demovksy, quarterback Matt Blanchard is "so far ahead" of Hundley currently, making the rookie the fourth quarterback on the depth chart:

When the team practiced without most veterans during the minicamp, Scott Tolzien took the first-team reps and Blanchard went second, per Demovksy.

In a vacuum, perhaps Blanchard best rounds out the depth chart at the position. But the Packers couldn't risk Hundley not clearing waivers en route to the practice squad, so their hands are somewhat tied.

Had they known how well Blanchard was going to play in the offseason, they could have perhaps waited another couple of years to draft a young quarterback who could be truly groomed to eventually replace Rodgers.

For now, however, they'll hope Hundley improves with more practice.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Contract and salary-cap information courtesy of Spotrac.