Packers GM Says Team Not Giving Up on Season After Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Trade

The Green Bay Packers may have been sellers at the NFL trade deadline Tuesday, but general manager Brian Gutekunst insisted the team hasn't packed it in this season.

Gutekunst said Wednesday he doesn't foresee the departures of safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and running back Ty Montgomery having a negative impact on the locker room, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky:

"I don't necessarily think there's a message it sends to the locker room. I think the decisions that we make are always in the best interest of our team, not only in the short term, but the long term, as well. But I think our locker room knows where we're headed and, like I said, I think we're humming at the right time and I think there's a lot of positive things going forward."

The Packers confirmed Tuesday they dealt both Clinton-Dix and Montgomery. Green Bay received a 2019 fourth-round pick from the Washington Redskins in return for Clinton-Dix and got back a 2020 seventh-rounder from the Baltimore Ravens in the Montgomery trade.

Sending Montgomery out was defensible. He improvised in Sunday's 29-27 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams and returned a kickoff with 1:56 left instead of taking the touchback. He fumbled on the return, and the Rams recovered to seal their victory.

With the way his teammates reportedly reacted to the play, Green Bay had to get Montgomery out of town.

Jettisoning Clinton-Dix was a little more surprising since he owns the fourth-highest grade (83.5) among safeties on Pro Football Focus. The 25-year-old is in the final year of his contract, and the Packers may have thought it best to get something back in a trade rather than letting him leave in free agency.

Clinton-Dix went on the record earlier this month to say he expects to leave the Packers in the offseason.

But fans in Green Bay had good reason to be a bit frustrated with how the deadline unfolded.

The Packers are in the middle of a playoff race, and Aaron Rodgers isn't getting any younger. Trading Montgomery and Clinton-Dix doesn't mean the team is tanking, but the team didn't exactly get any better either.

There's no question Gutekunst is in a tricky position. He justifiably wants to put his imprint on the Packers roster, but he also can't really waste a year with Rodgers under center.

According to Spotrac, Green Bay will have a little over $43.2 million available to spend in the offseason, and that number will likely rise as Gutekunst makes a number of cost-cutting maneuvers. If he spends that money wisely, then the fanbase will likely look more positively on the team's midseason business in 2018.