In general, the Green Bay Packers are reluctant to give players a third contract, with the old adage being that they prefer to get out a year early, rather than a year late.
Their hesitance over these types of deals is justified, as when they have made exceptions, the Packers have often come to regret the decision.
There is risk to giving long-term contracts to players in their late 20s or early 30s, and although keeping players who have been significant contributors in the past can seem appealing, teams are stung all the time by these types of deals. This is not an issue unique to Green Bay.
After the Packers dealt away Kenny Clark to the Cowboys as part of the Micah Parsons trade, just a year after giving the veteran defensive tackle a new three-year contract, he now becomes part of a checkered history of third-contract players in Green Bay.
Examining the list of players the team has extended on a third contract does not make pleasant reading, for one reason or another.
Starting with Clark, who as mentioned, lasted just a year on his new contract, with the Packers eating around $35 million of dead money to move him on.
Green Bay will not regret the contract, as based on comments by both Packers GM Brian Gutekunst and Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones, the Parsons trade could not have happened without him, with Dallas looking for an experienced run stopping defensive tackle as part of the deal.
However, Clark’s extension was not a success in its own right.
He endured arguably the worst year of his career in 2024, and although a season-long toe injury had plenty to do with that and is no one’s fault, he had not quite been the same elite defensive tackle in recent years, so there were signs an extension may not have been the best idea.
Preston Smith signed a four-year extension in 2022, his second contract in Green Bay, but the third of his career. He played two-and-a-half years of that deal before being traded to Pittsburgh in what was effectively a salary dump from the Packers’ perspective.
Before that, there was David Bakhtiari. We all know what happened there. The knee injury which ultimately looks to have ended his career was incredibly unfortunate for both Bakhtiari and the Packers.
Going back further, Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the first year of his new contract in 2015, came back and enjoyed one strong season in 2016, before an injury-riddled 2017. One of Gutekunst’s first moves as Packers GM was to cut Nelson in 2018, a year before his contract was set to expire.
To a degree, Jimmy Graham is an extension of these questionable deals. He was signed to a three-year deal as a 32-year-old, and did not pan out in Green Bay at all. Graham was cut after the second year of the contract, and the only surprise was that he wasn’t released earlier.
Even De’Vondre Campbell to an extent was a failed third contract. After an All-Pro season with the Packers, who picked him up late in the offseason, Green Bay rewarded Campbell with a multi-year extension for big money, and he never played to the same level.
Arguably the most success the Packers have had with a third contract player is Rasul Douglas, who like Campbell, was an unheralded signing who exceeded expectations, and earned a long-term deal as a result.
Douglas may have only played half of the three-year deal he signed, but his play did not decline at any stage and the Packers were able to flip him and a fifth-round draft pick in exchange for a third-rounder at the trade deadline in 2023, when it appeared their season was going nowhere.
None of the players listed above finished out the contract they signed.
Looking at the players Green Bay allowed to leave in free agency after the end of their second contracts (not traded like Davante Adams, or released before the end of their second contract like Jaire Alexander), the Packers were mostly proven right.
Green Bay was not rewarded for paying Dean Lowry, as he did not play as well on his second contract, but they were vindicated for letting him go after 2022. He played a year with the Vikings and one with the Steelers, and has not had much impact.
Corey Linsley was the textbook definition of “a year early rather than a year late.” The center was excellent for a year with the Chargers after leaving in free agency, but declined sharply in year two and played just three games in 2023, the final ones of his career.
Lane Taylor played just one more year (and only five games) in the NFL with Houston after departing Green Bay at the end of his second contract.
Bryan Bulaga had dealt with injuries in Green Bay and was not the same player with the Chargers after signing there. He played only 11 more NFL games after being let go by the Packers.
Randall Cobb found some success in Dallas upon leaving Green Bay, before later coming back to the Packers at the behest of Aaron Rodgers. Letting him go initially was by no means a mistake.
Clay Matthews played one more year with the Rams after leaving the Packers and had little impact before retiring.
Morgan Burnett had two more years in the league, one in Pittsburgh and one in Cleveland. He played solid football in those two seasons before hanging up his cleats.
The main takeaway is that third contracts usually don’t work out, and in general, the Packers would be better off moving on.
There will always be exceptions they are willing to take a chance on, and some of the failed contracts have been down to injuries, which is essentially bad luck, and in fairness to the Packers, they have at least managed to turn some of these regrettable deals into draft compensation.
They also do a good job of structuring extensions in a way that they are never truly tied to a bad contract.
But looking forward to next year, the team should bear in mind their less than favorable track record when considering whether to extend Elgton Jenkins for example, who is set to be a free agent in 2027, when he will be entering his age 32 season.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Kenny Clark latest example of why Packers are wary of third contracts after Parsons trade
Reporting by Mark Oldacres, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
