With the 2024 season officially in the metaphorical rearview window, the Green Bay Packers have their eyes set on competing for the Lombardi Trophy in 2025.
The Packers spent the last two years seeing what they had with the league’s youngest roster and have clear areas where growth is needed.
Thankfully, they are well-positioned to add talent to the roster.
With cap freedom for the first time since the final days of the Aaron Rodgers era, few priority upcoming free agents to re-sign, and more roster clarity, Brian Gutekunst won’t need to keep his purse strings tightened this offseason.
Arguably the most important roster move Gutekunst should make this spring is signing right tackle Zach Tom to a long-term extension. The former fourth-rounder is generating value far above his rookie contract, and the Packers would be wise to lock him down before the price skyrockets.
Green Bay typically prioritizes their own impending free agents, so it’s likely a matter of when rather than if for a Tom extension. But the sooner a deal happens — and what those numbers look like — will tell us how the Packers feel about Tom’s long-term spot and the future of their offensive line.
Tommy Boy has been a revelation at right tackle since joining the Packers in 2022. Tom was already a prototypical Packers lineman with the ability to play almost anywhere on the line. Injuries and need pushed him to his current spot at right tackle, and he’s arguably been Green Bay’s best offensive player at that spot. Tom struggled a bit against the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs, but few offensive linemen didn’t.
But, even now, that spot could change. The discourse around Tom’s best spot is a popular topic (guilty!) since the Packers said he could become a potential Hall of Fame center.
It’s still accurate to say that you could play Tom anywhere on the offensive line. He’s established himself at tackle, but someone with his skills could thrive anywhere.
Tackle is a good spot for two reasons. You want to protect your quarterback from the edge, and the money is at tackle despite teams valuing interior offensive linemen more in recent years.
If Tom gets a big-money contract as a tackle, it’ll be obvious that that’s his spot for the foreseeable future.
But Green Bay’s line is destined for change in 2025. Between now and August, their plans for Tom could change.
Of all Green Bay’s draft classes, the 2021 group was … certainly one of them. Because the Packers didn’t get many roster staples from that class, there aren’t many priority re-signings. T.J. Slaton is probably the top priority, but center Josh Myers is the one to watch.
People’s opinions of Myers inside and outside the building vary a lot. Still, the organization’s opinion matters, and Brian Gutekunst said he would love to have Myers back.
However, it might be a repeat of the 2024 season’s Jon Runyan situation, where the Packers wanted their beloved locker-room favorite but not enough to pay him top-of-the-market money.
Suppose the Packers bring Myers back, and the deal happens before Tom’s. Then, the Tom-to-center conversations are over, at least for a few years.
In the more likely event that Myers takes more money elsewhere, things could get complicated.
Tom, Sean Rhyan, Elgton Jenkins, and Jacob Monk are all center options, and that’s before considering John Q. Outsidehire. While he likely doesn’t factor into the center conversation, the Packers want Jordan Morgan somewhere in the starting lineup. The Packers may want to play around with their ideal starting five before paying Tom.
If they want to lock down Tom but aren’t sure of what position he will play, his deal could be incentive-driven like Jenkins’.
When Jenkins signed his four-year, $68 million extension at the end of 2022, it was the second-highest deal for an NFL guard.
However, Jenkins wasn’t necessarily a guard at that point in his career.
Jenkins made headlines in 2021 at left tackle, replacing the injured David Bakhtiari and having his best season thus far. Then, he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the 2021 season.
He made his comeback in 2022 at right tackle but didn’t look quite like his old self. He eventually returned to left guard and settled back into his Pro Bowl self.
By the time he signed his extension, he was playing guard but was still in consideration at tackle. His contract reflected that by offering incentives if he made All-Pro as a tackle or Pro Bowl at either spot. So, while his contract was for a guard, he still could have pushed for money as a tackle.
Tom’s future looks inverted — he will likely stay at tackle but could move inside. But the Packers could come up with some contract sorcery to incentivize him to play inside.
The Packers don’t need to pay Tom yet. Members of the 2022 draft class are now eligible for extensions, but their rookie contracts won’t expire until the end of this season. Still, Tom is already an elite starting offensive lineman, and those don’t come cheap. Paying him as soon as possible will keep his price from skyrocketing after 2025.
However, the Packers have questions along the offensive line thanks to a potentially departing center, a second-year first-round pick looking to enter the starting lineup, and an overall versatile group of linemen.
Tom will likely get a top-of-market tackle deal and protect Jordan Love‘s right side for years. Still, it’s not the only option. How the Packers handle Tom’s extension will tell us a lot about their plans for their offensive line.
