NFL Trade Deadline Tracker: Will Packers Take Action?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Today is the day.

Yes, it’s Election Day, but it’s also the NFL trade deadline.

Will the Green Bay Packers make a move to add to what they believe is a Super Bowl-caliber roster?

History says no. The last time the Packers were “buyers” at or around the trade deadline was in 2010, when they acquired safety Anthony Smith from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional draft pick. Smith wasn’t exactly the reason the Packers won the Super Bowl; he played in four games.

Last year, the Packers were sellers when they traded Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills.

Areas of need

The Packers appear to have gone on the offensive. They rank ninth in points per game and fourth in total offense. All that side of the ball needs is better execution, with Green Bay ranking 20th on third down and a woeful 29th in the red zone, while Jordan Love is tied for the most interceptions.

Defensively, while Green Bay is a solid 13th in points allowed per game and 11th in total defense, the pass defense needs to improve.

The Packers rank 16th in opponent completion percentage and 18th in yards allowed per pass attempt.

A strong pass rush would help the secondary. Although they rank a decent 14th in sack percentage, 12 of their 22 sacks came against Tennessee (eight) and Houston (four). There was one against Jacksonville and one against Detroit in the last two games.

There have been a few pass rushers traded – more on that later – but the best player on the market is the Giants’ Azeez Ojulari, who has six sacks this season. That’s as many as Rashan Gary (2.5), Preston Smith (2.5) and Lukas Van Ness (1.0) combined.

Ojulari is playing in the final year of his rookie contract. He’s only 24 and would likely need a fourth-round pick to be selected.

The other way to help the pass defense is to add another cornerback.

With Jaire Alexander inactive against Detroit, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 18 of 21 on targeted passes, including 11 of 11 to receivers.

The Lions have a star receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught all seven targets, but the rest of the receiver corps doesn’t compare to what the Packers face the rest of the season — including after the bye against Rome Odunze from Chicago, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen.

Is the combination of Alexander and Keisean Nixon at corner and rookie Javon Bullard at the slot good enough to compete against the elite quarterbacks and receivers filling both the second half of the schedule and the playoffs?

Marshon Lattimore of the Saints is by far the best cornerback who could be available, although there have been rumors about the Packers’ interest in the Browns’ Greg Newsome.

Newsome, a first-round pick in 2021, has zero interceptions and three passes defensed in nine games (three starts) this season. He was torched by the Eagles, but was 6 of 9 passing for 65 yards in 87 coverage snaps in the last three games, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 24-year-old started 39 games in his first three seasons, including 13 last year, when he set career highs with two interceptions and 14 passes defensed. He is under contract until 2025.

Sellers again?

A few weeks agoNFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that teams were interested in Packers defensive end Preston Smith and backup offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

Smith will turn 32 on Nov. 17, when the Packers will play in Chicago. He had two sacks in Week 3 at Tennessee and half a sack with the Rams in Week 5. Over the last four games he has zero sacks, zero tackles for losses, one quarterback hit and six tackles.

Smith played a season-high 71.1 percent of snaps in Week 1 against the Eagles, but a season-low 36.8 percent against the Lions. The decrease in playing time is a signal that the Packers wouldn’t mind trading Smith and giving more opportunities to Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare.

Smith is under contract for two more seasons with a base salary of $12.0 million in 2025 and $12.6 million in 2026.

NFC teams are making moves

Three NFC playoff contenders have already struck.

The Detroit Lions acquired former Packers pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. The 32-year-old will look to fill the void left when superstar defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg. Smith has 5.0 sacks in nine games this season.

He ranks 11th among 90 edge defenders with at least 100 pass rush options, according to Pro Football Focus.

Smith had double-digit sacks with the Packers in 2019 (13.5) and 2020 (12.5) and Vikings in 2022 (10.0). It will be worth the low price if he can be the last piece of the puzzle.

The Arizona Cardinals acquired outside linebacker Baron Browning from the Broncos for a sixth-round pick. Browning, a 2021 third-round pick, has played in five games (two starts) this season with zero sacks or quarterback hits. He totaled 9.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hits over the past two seasons.

The Chicago Bears sent Khalil Herbert back to the Bengals. After rushing for 731 yards at a 5.7-yard average in 2022 and 611 yards at a 4.6-yard average in 2023, Herbert became the odd man out in Chicago after it signed D’Andre Swift. He only has eight carries this season and he was traded for a seventh-round pick.

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