The 5 Biggest Issues Facing Green Bay Packers with OTAs Wrapped

The Green Bay Packers are in good shape heading into their mandatory June minicamp and, soon, training camp this offseason.

While many teams must deal with player holdouts, injuries to crucial players or a lack of cap space, the Packers haven't had to so far through offseason training activities.

Still, there are a few issues the Packers must address prior to the start of the regular season, from contemplating summer contract extensions to beginning to evaluate how they will whittle the roster down to 53 players. 

Let's break down five such issues and explore how the Packers could address them before September. Don't think of these as problems, but rather items on Green Bay's offseason to-do list.  

Roster Space

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It's not going to be easy for the Packers to cut their current roster down to 53 players. While that's a true statement every offseason, there is so much vital young talent on the roster (such as four wide receivers with two or fewer years of experience) Green Bay needs to try to retain. 

Countless positions have too much potential and not enough spots.

The Packers will likely only carry three running backs on the 53-man roster, which means they'll potentially have to make a decision between second-year player Rajion Neal and promising undrafted rookie John Crockett. Neither is likely to last long on the practice squad.

Green Bay only kept five wide receivers on the depth chart last season but will almost certainly need to make room for six this year. Those six will likely be Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis and Ty Montgomery, making practice-squad holdover Myles White the odd man out.

If the Packers can only keep five receivers, expect a battle between Abbrederis and Janis. Again, it would be risky to try to stash either one on the practice squad, however.

Considering some teams in the league don't even carry one fullback on the roster, the fact that Green Bay could have two in 2015 seems luxurious. And yet, rookie Aaron Ripkowski likely won't be ready to take on the role of lead blocking for Eddie Lacy in his first year, so giving him a season to develop behind veteran John Kuhn, who is on a one-year deal, is ideal.

The secondary isn't safe from the economies of roster cuts, either. The Packers had five cornerbacks and five safeties on the roster last season. 

This year, corners Sam Shields, Casey Hayward, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins seem like locks to make the final roster, and second-year player Demetri Goodson is likely to as well. Does that mean Green Bay has room to sign promising undrafted rookie LaDarius Gunter? 

At safety, some have speculated that Chris Banjo may be expendable, as Randall played safety for four years in college and could perhaps be used there in a pinch. 

In any case, arriving at the final 53 this offseason will be a uniquely challenging task for general manager Ted Thompson. 

Experience (or Lack Thereof) at Inside Linebacker

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The Packers have plenty of bodies on the roster at inside linebacker: presumed starter Sam Barrington, rookie fourth-round pick Jake Ryan, outside linebacker converts Carl Bradford and Nate Palmer, 2014 undrafted free agent Joe Thomas and 2015 offseason acquisition Josh Francis. 

And, of course, Clay Matthews. 

The issue, however, is that of all those players, only Matthews and Barrington have any NFL game experience at the position. 

The Packers have avoided total disaster in this area by planning to continue to play Matthews inside on running downs in 2015. He's been practicing with the first team in OTAs. 

However, Matthews needs to move outside on passing downs and ideally won't spend the majority of his snaps inside. Green Bay needs another one of the players mentioned above to step up. Bradford and Ryan seem the two most likely candidates. 

Bradford transitioned to inside linebacker partway through training camp last year but was a healthy inactive for every game in 2014. This year's training camp will be a good indication of whether he can make it work at linebacker.  

Ryan has an advantage, having played middle linebacker in his last year at Michigan, but he has yet to play an NFL game. If he can pick up the defense quickly, his skills both against the run and in coverage will earn him playing time this season. 

Starting Cornerback

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Having two standout perimeter corners is as important to a 3-4 defense as a stout nose tackle or a quick pass-rusher off the edge. The Packers enjoyed solid cornerback play from Sam Shields and Tramon Williams over multiple seasons, but now they'll attempt to replace Williams on the outside. 

During training camp, veteran and slot standout Casey Hayward will compete with 2014 sixth-round pick Demetri Goodson and 2015 first- and second-round rookies Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins for the position. 

Hayward's years of experience in Green Bay's system give him an edge for the starting job. He did start seven games at outside corner in 2012 when Shields was injured, but he has played primarily in the slot (and excelled there) since.

If the Packers move Hayward outside, not only does the 5'11", 190-pound corner need to excel against vertical-threat, 6'0"-plus receivers, but the Packers will need to slot someone in the nickel corner role who can do just as well as Hayward so there's not a net loss overall. 

Defensive back Micah Hyde could take on that role, as could rookies Randall and Rollins. 

Coaching Changes

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The Packers have undergone a number of coaching moves this offseason, and while they should improve the team as a whole, this offseason will be about adjusting to the changes for players and coaches alike. 

Many of the coaching changes were designed to help improve Green Bay's special teams unit, which ranked 32nd in 2014, per the Dallas Morning News' annual rankings. 

The most important coaching move the Packers made this offseason was head coach Mike McCarthy handing off play-calling duties to former offensive coordinator and current associate head coach Tom Clements. 

McCarthy also fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum and promoted assistant Ron Zook.

With Clements now calling the offensive plays, quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have more say in the calls during games. 

The Packers also named Edgar Bennett offensive coordinator, Alex Van Pelt quarterbacks/wide receivers coach, Mike Solari assistant offensive line coach, Jerry Montgomery defensive front assistant and Jason Simmons assistant special teams coach.

Clements calling the plays will be the biggest change for the players to adapt to, but the shifts across the board will be important to adjust to during training camp. 

Contract Extensions

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The Packers don't often re-sign players to contract extensions during the summer. In recent seasons, general manager Ted Thompson has re-signed only a few key players prior to the last year of their deals, including Jordy Nelson and Morgan Burnett last offseason. 

The two players the Packers could consider extending this offseason are defensive end Mike Daniels and cornerback Casey Hayward. 

Daniels is entering the final year of his contract. Over the last three seasons, the former fourth-round pick has become a leader in the locker room, 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, per Pro Football Focus.

Hayward is less likely to receive a contract extension this summer. He may be entering his first year as a starter, and if he performs well, the Packers will likely reward him next March with a new contract. 

There's a risk involved there, however. Once the rest of the league sees what he can do over a full season, his price would rise rapidly in free agency in 2016.