Shocking Trade Ideas Packers Should Pursue Before 2024 Season

The Green Bay Packers enter 2024 with high hopes after a 9-8 finish and a wildcard weekend win in the 2023 campaign.

Jordan Love has established himself as the quarterback of the future and the Packers made some aggressive moves to be better this season. Signing Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs were splashier moves than we are used to seeing in free agency from general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Now that June is almost here, player movement generally comes to a screeching halt.

There are occasionally some notable signings, but a trade is about the only thing that generates headlines this time of year.

The Packers aren't generally one to engage in the trade market, but they are also still in the middle of reloading the roster around Jordan Love. The transition from the Aaron Rodgers era took a positive step in 2023, but they could still feel the need to make a major move before training camp gets started in July.

Here's a look at three moves that would be shocking but are still worth considering.

Take a Shot on James Bradberry

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

James Bradberry

One area of concern for the Packers moving into this season is depth at cornerback. They traded away Rasul Douglas in the middle of last season, Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander have both struggled with injuries and Carrington Valentine might be the only young corner who has proven he can do the job.

Adding another veteran to the mix wouldn't be the worst idea.

One low-risk move would be to call up the Philadelphia Eagles and work out a deal to get James Bradberry. There's no sugarcoating it, he was bad last season. He gave up 11 touchdowns and a passer rating of 114.3.

However, he's still one season removed from giving up just two scores and a passer rating of 51.6. He put together a career year in his first season with the Eagles.

The Eagles have essentially moved on from him already this offseason. They drafted Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, giving them two young cornerback prospects who could bump Bradberry down the depth chart.

At this point, the Eagles should be glad to just get Bradberry off the roster and avoid paying his $1.2 million salary. Meanwhile, the Packers would be paying a low cost to get a player who might still have a good season or two in the tank.

Add Jonathan Allen to the Defensive Line

Michael Owens/Getty Images

Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen

The switch from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is one of the interesting storylines to watch in 2024. The Packers have a young group of defensive tackles alongside nose tackle Kenny Clark.

The group has some emerging talents in Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks, but was also a reason the Packers gave up 4.5 yards per carry last season. Targeting another star interior defender to pair with Clark would be a major boost to the run defense.

If the Packers could swing a trade for Jonathan Allen, the defensive interior would immediately become a strength. Allen is a disruptive force on the inside with 80 pressures, 13 sacks and 34 tackles for loss over the last two seasons, per Sports Info Solutions.

Despite that production, the Washington Commanders' moves have indicated that he might not be part of their long-term plans. They handed Daron Payne a massive extension and drafted Jer'Zhan Newton in the second round of the draft.

Meanwhile, Allen has two years left on his deal and trading him after June 1 would save the Commanders $15.4 million against the cap.

Washington has made a lot of moves this offseason but they still aren't as ready to contend as the Packers. Giving them another veteran who could push them over the top while stockpiling picks is something that could make sense for both sides.

Trade Preston Smith

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Preston Smith

The first two trade suggestions are win-now moves that would be out of character for the Packers organization. Historically, the Packers are a patient franchise that relies on drafting and developing for sustained success.

Brian Gutekunst has mostly carried on that tradition. His biggest non-draft trades have been moving on from Rasul Douglas in 2023 and Randall Cobb in 2021.

In that vein, finding a buyer for Preston Smith would be shocking, but still in line with the Packers philosophy.

The 31-year-old played in every regular season game over the last two seasons so he doesn't have any glaring health concerns. However, he's set to make cap hist of $14.1, $17.5 and $18.2 million over the next three years.

A post-June 1 trade would enable the Packers to save $4.6 million against the cap this year with additional cap savings in the following seasons.

Trading Smith isn't a dire need, but it might turn out to be financially prudent. Smith's stock should be pretty high given his production and health over the last few seasons, but one injury or disappointing season at this age would plummet his value.

This might be the best opportunity to sell high on the veteran pass rusher and they have last year's first-round pick Lukas Van Ness waiting in the wings.