Packers' Top Hypothetical Trade Packages for Jordan Love, GB's 2024 NFL Playoff Push
The 2023 NFL season should be considered a massive success for the Green Bay Packers. The first year of the Jordan Love era resulted in a divisional-round playoff appearance and a 9-8 regular-season record.
Bumps along the way were anticipated. As the Packers transitioned from a proven veteran like Aaron Rodgers at quarterback to the unknown of Love and a young group of receivers, there were reasons to doubt Green Bay being a playoff team.
The Packers put those doubts to rest by winning six of their final eight games to reach the playoffs and stun the Dallas Cowboys once they got there.
Now, they can look to build on that momentum to make another playoff run in 2024. Before making any cuts or restructuring any contracts, Green Bay is $350,000 under the salary cap. That should give it enough wiggle room to make a few moves, which could include trades to push this roster to the next level if it wants to.
As we prepare for the offseason to start in earnest with free agency in March, here's a look at three hypothetical deals that could help the Packers make the most of 2024.
Trade David Bakhtiari to the Jets
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Jets Receive: OT David Bakhtiari
Packers Receive: 2025 conditional second-round pick (based on Bakhtiari's health and play)
Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst went out of his way to let people know he wasn't going to trade left tackle David Bakhtiari last August. That was then, but this is now.
The financial picture around trading the veteran has changed this offseason. While the Packers would have incurred a massive dead cap charge for dealing him last offseason, they stand to save a whopping $21 million in cap space by trading him this year.
That might not do much for the roster, but it does create a significant amount of cap space that could be used to retain their current crop of free agents or get a little more aggressive in free agency.
The trick with trading Bakhtiari is figuring out just how much he's worth. When he's on the field, he's still shown the ability to play at a high level. But he's 32, coming off a complicated knee injury and only played 55 snaps last season.
It's hard for the Packers to continue forward with the veteran because of his contract. Trading him would allow the team taking him on to inherit his $10.7 million base salary, which isn't all that hard to manage.
The best path toward a trade might be with a conditional draft pick. A modified formula that the Jaguars and Falcons used to trade Calvin Ridley last offseason would make sense.
In that case, the Falcons traded the receiver to the Jags for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a conditional pick in 2024. If Ridley reached certain playing milestones, it became a third-round pick; and if the Jaguars re-sign him this offseason, it would become a second-rounder.
A Bakhtiari conditional pick could start as a fourth-rounder but elevate to a third if he plays in more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps and becomes a second-rounder if the Jets extend him beyond the final year of his contract.
Trade Up for Left Tackle
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Saints Receive: 2024 first-round pick (No. 25 overall), 2024 third-round pick (No. 91 overall), 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 203 overall)
Packers Receive: 2024 first-round pick (No. 14 overall)
As noted in the David Bakhtiari trade suggestion, the Packers have a real need at left tackle this offseason.
Bakhtiari has been a great player, but the injuries have made him unreliable. While it's pretty rare for Green Bay to take an offensive player in the first round or trade up, the need at tackle could be an exception.
The Packers have benefitted from having an excellent offensive line for a long time. Bakhtiari's play at left tackle has been a part of that more often than not.
Finding an answer in free agency will be difficult. The Packers would be better off using the draft to find Love's long-term blindside protector, but they might have to jump up in the order to find their guy.
Making the move from No. 25 to No. 14 would require some draft capital, but they have a good stockpile. According to Tankathon's power rankings, Green Bay has the fifth-best haul of picks this year.
That could be of particular interest to the New Orleans Saints. They are constantly cutting things close to the cap and could benefit from more players on rookie contracts. They also don't have a third- or fourth-round pick right now.
This trade would give them a third-rounder while putting the Packers in a better position to draft a left tackle prospect over a few other tackle-needy teams in the middle of the first round.
Options such as Kingsley Suamataia or Tyler Guyton could be the target in such a move.
Trade for Garett Bolles
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Broncos Receive: 2024 second-round pick (No. 58 overall)
Packers Receive: OT Garett Bolles
A final idea that would bring better protection for Love moving forward would be to target Garett Bolles. He played over 1,000 snaps last season and only gave up three sacks while earning a 75.9 grade from PFF.
The 31-year-old also wasn't shy about voicing frustration with another losing season in Denver. He's an obvious trade candidate for a Broncos team that is facing a tight cap situation. They are expected to release Russell Wilson, which will make cap room even more precious.
The Broncos are already $25.7 million over the cap right now and trading Bolles would free up $16 million.
The Packers don't usually trade picks for players, but they have five selections in the top 100 and 11 total in this year's draft. If there's a time to use one of those picks for someone who could be a veteran difference-maker, it's now.
Tackles don't make it to the trade market very often, so it's hard to nail down a realistic price but Denver should jump at the opportunity to get another Day 2 pick after trading for Sean Payton last offseason.
Visit B/R's NFL Scouting Department hub for scouting reports on all of the top prospects.
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