Packers slash WR Randall Cobb’s 2022 salary to get under the salary cap

When quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to the Green Bay Packers in the summer of 2021, one of the conditions he had negotiated upon his return was that the team traded for his former teammate and good friend receiver Randall Cobb. In exchange for a sixth-round pick, the Packers acquired his bloated contract that they negotiated down in 2021 — with the help of a restructure — but would still need adjusting if they were to keep him in 2022.

By Wednesday, the Packers officially needed to be under the league’s salary cap for 2022, meaning that they needed to make some late moves to get there. Cobb’s deal stuck out like a sore thumb. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel broke the news that Cobb, who was set to make $8.5 million in salary this year, will take a $5 million haircut to stay with the team.

With receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown highly likely to leave in unrestricted free agency, along with the fact that a Davante Adams holdout is on the horizon, it makes sense as to why the team would want to keep Cobb — who has nine years of experience with Rodgers — on the roster. It was just never going to come at a cost of $8.5 million after his 2021 production with the cap situation that the 2022 Packers are in.

Silverstein also reported that linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s five-year contract is not official, at least as of the first day of free agency, meaning that Green Bay likely needs to make a move or two before they take ink to paper on the deal. After the Cobb contract adjustment, the contracts the Packers can get the most cap space out of restructuring are cornerback Jaire Alexander’s, safety Adrian Amos’ and defensive end Dean Lowry’s. Collectively, those three contracts account for more than $33 million in 2022 cap space.