Cheese Curds, 3/11: Packers have work to do with a few days until free agency begins

Although next Wednesday is the official start of the NFL’s 2022 league year and therefore the first time that free agents can begin signing contracts with teams, Monday will mark a major milestone on the free agency calendar as well. Noon Eastern Time on Monday is when teams and agents for unrestricted free agents-to-be can begin to negotiate on contracts, opening the so-called “legal tampering” period.

As a result, many big name players will already have deals agreed upon on Monday afternoon and Tuesday, and the Green Bay Packers need to be ready. Several of their own key players from 2021 are set to hit that free agent market next week, and in order to know what their financial flexibility will allow them to do in free agency, the Packers need to be hard at work getting their financial situation in order.

Job number one on the list is signing Aaron Rodgers to a contract extension now that he has committed to return to Green Bay for 2022. That will likely free up significant cap space, as the Packers will need to free up around $45 million just to get under the cap by Wednesday, and likely need another $5 million or so to tender all of their exclusive-rights and restricted free agents.

After or concurrently with a Rodgers deal, Green Bay will surely start to release a handful of players as salary cap casualties and restructure a few more veteran contracts. We gave a go this week at what those moves might look like, and finding that we could get to the $45 million mark with a few choice releases and a number of other restructures.

So with just a few days left, expect the Packers to start making moves this weekend, probably starting today. Now in today’s curds, we’ll take a little bit of a look ahead to what free agency might have in store for Green Bay once they make it to that phase of the offseason.

Packers sixth stock offering adds 176,160 new shareholders | Packers.com
Congratulations to all of the new shareholders around the world! Welcome to the club — the keg is in the closet.

NFL free agency predictions: Finding three fits for each team – The Athletic ($)
Predictions for the Packers include re-signing De'Vondre Campbell and Robert Tonyan (sensible enough) but also picking up a 190-pound slot receiver and return man, which seems very out of sorts for this front office.

Cory Littleton could be ideal backup option if Packers lose De’Vondre Campbell | Packers Wire
The Raiders are cutting Littleton for cap purposes. If Campbell doesn't return, the Packers could look at Littleton instead -- they were reportedly interested in him two years ago, he's just 28, and he played for Joe Barry in Los Angeles.

Bears trading pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chargers for multiple draft picks | NFL.com
NFC teams keep selling off key pieces to the AFC West. Now Mack is gone to LA, in exchange for a second-round pick this April and a 6th-rounder next year. This gets the Bears out from Mack's massive contract after 2022, a clear focus for a team that seemingly does not expect to contend this year.

Billy Joel Biopic Gets Greenlit Despite No Music, Likeness, or Name Rights | Consequence Film
"Harpsichord Guy," the biopic about William Joe, will tell the story of how a young man from Lobster Bay, Staten Island turned into a massive international star.