INDIANAPOLIS − Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst conducted a 39-minute news conference with local reporters while at the NFL scouting combine on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Following are several takeaways from that session.
Rich Bisaccia’s departure a surprise
Gutekunst acknowledged that the Packers were caught off guard by Rich Bisaccia stepping away from his position as special-teams coordinator.
Bisaccia announced Feb. 17, about a month after the Packers’ final game, that he was not going to return to the team. He also had suggested to the team in the previous offseason or two he might retire but didn’t follow through, and the Packers thought he would return for another season this year as well.
“Wouldn’t say we were expecting it at all, it a little bit caught us by surprise,” Gutekunst said. “But I think there’s some other opportunities he wanted to look at. Very appreciative of his run with us. I do think, when I talked to you guys last time, how important to our culture he was, and I think he’s a fabulous football coach. That’s a big loss. But Matt [LaFleur] is going through it now, and hopefully we’ll get that replaced.”
By waiting for Bisaccia’s decision, the Packers missed out on the free-for-all for the hiring of special-teams coordinators this year. Many experienced coordinators came off the market in the past month, and all 31 other teams have filled that position.
According to ESPN.com, LaFleur has interviewed at least four candidates who are special-teams assistants in the league: Cam Achord of the New York Giants, Tom McMahon of the Las Vegas Raiders, Sam Sewell of the Arizona Cardinals and Kyle Wilber of the New Orleans Saints.
“I look at it kinda glass half full,” Gutekunst said. “This actually allows us to take our time. When you get into that coaching cycle, sometimes you’ve gotta move fast without knowing everything you want to know about candidates. Right now, we don’t have a lot of competition, right? Matt’s taking his time, being real thorough. The candidates he’s bringing in I’m pretty excited about. He’s going to spend some time with them this week, hopefully we’ll have that figured out sooner rather than later.”
Lukas Van Ness decision coming in May
Gutekunst left the door open to exercising Lukas Van Ness’ fifth-year option.
Van Ness is under contract for 2026, but by early May, Gutekunst will have to decide whether to exercise the team’s option for his fifth year (2027) at the cost of about $15.4 million.
Last year, Gutekunst exercised the fifth-year option on Devonte Wyatt but not on Quay Walker – they were his first-round picks in 2022.
Van Ness has 8½ sacks in his three seasons, including 1½ in nine games last year. When asked if the shortage of sacks gave him pause about committing $15.4 million to Van Ness in ‘27, Gutekunst said:
“It’s about what we think he’s going to do in the future, not what he’s done in the past, right? That’s how we look at things. We did with Devonte last year, and if that’s the decision we decide to do, I won’t have a problem with that at all.”
Elgton Jenkins, Rashan Gary good as gone?
Gutekunst inched closer to suggesting center Elgton Jenkins and edge rusher Rashan Gary won’t be back next season.
The Packers can gain about $30 million combined in badly needed salary-cap space by cutting both. The presumption is neither will be back, but at a news conference earlier this offseason Gutekunst didn’t give any hints either might be cut.
This time he left open the possibility.
Cutting Jenkins will save about $19.5 million in cap space. Jenkins struggled in his move to center before a season-ending broken leg.
“The move to center certainly was to help the Packers and help him as well,” Gutekunst said. “Him getting hurt, we lost a lot of veteran leadership there when he went out, so that was difficult. But at the same time, we’ll kinda see where that goes.”
Cutting Gary will save about $11 million on the cap.
“Sixty pressures, 7½ sacks, that’s tough to replace,” Gutekunst said. “He’s on our roster and I’d expect him to play at that level or higher if he’s back next year. We’ll see how that goes.”
Gutekunst has ‘zero’ regrets on Parsons’ trade
The Packers general manager knew what was at stake in the blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons.
In addition to the historic financial move, the Packers lost veteran tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks.
Parsons’ debut season was cut short due to his ACL injury in December, and when asked if he had any regrets making the move, Gutekunst said, “Zero.”
“He impacted out football team, not only on the field, but in the locker room in a positive way. We’re really excited for years to come.”
Packers still working through offensive line
While Jenkins’ future remains unclear, Gutekunst showed optimism about other returners on the offensive line.
Gutekunst mentioned it would be ideal for Jordan Morgan to solely focus on left tackle as Rasheed Walker is likely gone.
Sean Rhyan replaced Jenkins at center during the season. The Packers also have a free-agent decision to make on Rhyan, but he made a positive impression on the team.
“I thought he got better each game. About game three or four at center, he was starting to play at a high level,” Gutekunst said. “He brought a little less experience, but was more stout in there because he’s a strong and physical guy.”
Anthony Belton started as a backup tackle but moved to right guard when Rhyan went to center. The rookie lineman showed a lot of promise, and Gutekunst said he feels Belton will remain at guard but could play tackle if need be.
“Really proud of him how quickly he adapted to the inside and the physicality that he brought us,” he said. “In my mind, I’d love to see him stay there (at guard) a little bit.”
(This story was updated to add information).
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Rich Bisaccia caught Packers by surprise, other Brian Gutekunst takeaways
Reporting by Pete Dougherty and Dominique Yates, Packers News / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
