The Packers locked up Christian Watson for the long haul, signing him to a contract extension on Thursday. In a week full of big NFL news, Watson secured his payday. Now, onto your questions: 

“Hey Maggie! Favorite factor in this portion of OTAs? Thanks.” - Jim

Hi Jim! There were a couple of noteworthy nuggets this week, for sure. Bo Melton switching back full-time to wide receiver made a ton of sense for him, and it seems like the position he’s always been more comfortable playing. Micah Parsons returning to Green Bay now is also significant, even though we know he’ll start the season on the PUP list. Getting comfortable with Jonathan Gannon and being a vocal leader in the locker room, despite not being out on the field, will mean a lot for the younger players like Barryn Sorrell and Dani Dennis-Sutton. 

I would say the most interesting piece to me, though, was the confirmation that Zaire Franklin will be wearing the green dot on defense. It was kind of my expectation when he was signed, but with Quay Walker off to Vegas, it wouldn’t have shocked me if the Packers felt Edgerrin Cooper could handle those duties. Franklin’s addition, and prior experience with Gannon, make him an ideal complement for Cooper, and handling communication duties will allow Cooper to continue evolving into the best version of himself without needing to manage setting up the defense. 

“Hi Maggie. Am I being a good parent or a bad parent if I won't let my son get Madden 27 because Caleb Williams is on the cover? Thanks.” - Tony

I’m glad my kids aren’t old enough to play Madden so I don’t have to worry about that myself. Just kidding. Admittedly, I haven’t owned a copy of Madden in many years. I remember how funny it was, though, when Brett Favre was on the cover of Madden 09 before getting traded to the Jets. 

I have many fond memories of playing Madden with my dad, although I’m not sure he would look back on them as fondly. He would always play Madden with me to appease me, and then I’d repay the favor by repeatedly onside kicking the ball to myself and running up the score so it ended up being like, 98-7. If you’re reading this, Dad, I’m sorry. Thanks for still playing with me.

But really, Tony, your only role as a dad is to make sure your son doesn’t grow up a Bears fan. I feel like you’ve already got that in the bag, though. 

“Hello again Maggie! With the recent Christian Watson signing (great news, btw), do we have enough wiggle room in the cap to still get Tucker done this off season, as well as potentially D Wyatt? I’m the furthest thing from a capologist, but seems to me that “can“ is just begging to be kicked down the road. Thanks for the clarity!” - Jim

Jim got a double-header this week since he wrote in a second time right after the Watson news broke. Admittedly, I had expected Kraft’s deal to get done before Watson’s, but with the way the wide receiver market has played out, it doesn’t surprise me that Green Bay wanted to get that contract squared away. 

Now Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden (assuming Green Bay picks up his fifth-year option) are all under contract through 2029. If Kraft’s deal is another four-year deal (it should be), that’s a lot of firepower for Jordan Love for the long-term. The Packers are clearly banking on what they know Watson can be when he’s healthy. 

I don’t have any concerns about a Watson deal limiting the team’s ability to bring back Kraft and Wyatt. We’ll also have to see what happens with the cornerback room with both Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine playing on the final years of their contracts. But those are arguably the biggest names set to hit free agency next season, and Kraft and Wyatt will be the priorities. Guys like Karl Brooks and Isaiah McDuffie might come back on smaller deals, but they won’t be the priorities. 

I think Kraft’s deal still gets done before the regular season starts. For Wyatt, I’d be more inclined to think that gets done sometime mid-season. So I guess that’s a long way of saying no, I don’t think the Watson deal is going to cause any cap concerns. The team has just under $28 million in cap space currently, and they’ll have significantly less dead cap in 2027. That’ll do. 

And that’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. We’ll see if we get any new trades or contract extensions to talk about by next week. Next week will be Green Bay’s mandatory minicamp, taking place from June 9-11. Feel free to send any questions and/or topics for discussion to [email protected].