Will the Packers Re-Sign Josh Myers?
One of the most intriguing free agent decisions the Packers face this offseason revolves around Josh Myers.
Josh Myers is one of 11 unrestricted free agents the Packers need to figure out this offseason, and what they do with him might be the most interesting decision of them all.
Myers has faced significant criticism since being drafted in 2021. However, Brian Gutekunst vouched for for him during his season-ending press conference.
"I thought he had his best year,” Gutekunst said. “He dealt with some things during this year that were tough, and I thought he fought through it like a champion. He’s certainly an asset to our football team. I know Jordan (Love) trusts him very much as his center. He’s a UFA, so we’ll see where all that goes, but I can’t say enough good things about Josh Myers, not only as a player but as a leader. He really does embody a Green Bay Packer and kind of what we’re looking for.”
Myers missed 11 games in his rookie season but has started at least 16 each year since 2022. Gutekunst mentioned that Myers played through wrist and pectoral injuries during the 2024 season. However, he missed only one game, which came in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions.
Pro Football Focus graded him tied for 30th among 32 centers who played at least 500 offensive snaps this season. In 2022, he ranked 25th out of 34, and in 2023, he was 26th out of 32.
Although the numbers show Myers has been below average throughout his career, the eye test suggests he isn’t a liability holding back Green Bay’s offense. The wide receivers' struggles with drops and getting open against man coverage, combined with LaFleur’s play calling, were much bigger factors in Green Bay’s offensive underperformance, especially during the final stretch of the season. However, it’s true that the Packers could find a better center out there.
We can analyze Myers’ on-field production all day, but his value to the organization goes beyond that. He is a respected and well-liked figure in the locker room. Myers was named Green Bay's 2024 Ed Block Courage Award winner, which honors NFL players who exemplify sportsmanship and courage. Voted on by the players themselves, the award recognizes professionalism, strength, dedication, and being a role model in the community. The Packers place a high value on that type of character within the organization and like to keep these players around.
I believe Green Bay will bring him back, but it won’t happen on a one-year deal. Starting-caliber centers like Myers are hard to find in the league. He’d probably get multi-year offers in free agency, so a one-year prove-it deal doesn’t seem realistic for the Packers.
The Packers would need to evaluate their plan if Myers were to leave. Brian Gutekunst has the financial flexibility to address the position through free agency and the draft. The solution could also come from within the team. Would Green Bay consider moving Elgton Jenkins, one of the league’s best guards, to center? Or could Sean Rhyan get a chance to step in at the position? The Packers may also want to find out what they have in Jacob Monk. Zach Tom is far too valuable at right tackle, and I don’t think there’s any chance Matt LaFleur would move him inside.
Myers has not been able to provide the same level of play that Corey Linsley did during his seven-year career with the Packers. However, he was far from the biggest issue in Green Bay’s offense this season. There’s a case to be made for him both staying and leaving, but given how highly the Packers value him as a player and a person, I’d lean toward Myers playing at least a couple more years with the organization.
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Felipe is a Brazilian Packers writer covering the #GoPackGo for CheeseheadTV, Zone Coverage, and Packers Talk. Additionally, he contributes to Cheeseheads Brazil. Follow him on twitter at @Aceti_Felipe.
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Comments (49)
PatrickGB
January 27, 2025 at 10:28 am
Thanks Felipe! I know that many of us fans wanted to see him go. But Jordan likes him and so to the coaches. I guess if the price is right…
KenEllis
January 27, 2025 at 10:32 am
Letting Myers walk when the best C in the game was taken 1 pick after him, is playing in his 4th Super Bowl, and may be named to the All-Pro team (again) this season would not be a good look for the GM.
Hence, I look forward to Gootey announcing a big, new contract for Josh Myers .
Hopefully, the Packers get more value out of the Myers deal than the ones Gootey has recently given to Jaire, Gary, and Clark.
Bitternotsour
January 27, 2025 at 10:43 am
The packers drafted a 4 year starter at center. There's no bad narrative to be found in that, despite your tired rant. At the time he was drafted, the narrative is that Rodgers didn't want a left handed center and that was why Myers was the pick.
The Packers haven't spent a second contract on a center in a long time, they've let two extremely talented guys walk in the last two cycles, it won't be a surprise to see it happen again. Money isn't unlimited and cap management is key.
Coldworld
January 27, 2025 at 10:57 am
There was a lot better on-field argument for resigning Linsley to a third contract in 2021 than Myers to a second one. Linsley was a 5th round pick supposedly beaten out by JC Tretter who grabbed the position due to injury and never looked back. He signed a 3 year, 25 million deal in late ‘17 and was allowed to leave when it expired. Certainly Linsley deserved a second deal, but he was playing at and had sustained a much higher level of performance.
Oppy
January 27, 2025 at 03:06 pm
Stop with this “they signed a starter so it wasn’t a bad deal.”
They drafted a marginal starter at best. They gave him the full 4 years to develop. He hasn’t become anything more than a marginal starter at best.
That’s not a win. That’s not even a push. We’ve hand sub par play at center for years. This crazy narrative that if a guy occupied a starting role that means he was a starting caliber player is insane. By that logic, every player who has ever played a starting role has provided no reason to be upgraded from.
It’s time to move on and look for a C who is a plus player. Let someone else try to unlock meyers potential. Best of luck to him.
Btw.. packers have extended quality centers in the past. Linsley may have been the only one who was worthy of extending but wasn’t, and that was purely do to the advanced maturity of the salary cap at the time.
Bitternotsour
January 27, 2025 at 07:31 pm
a plus player by whose metric, yours or some casual on the internet. just for the record, how many sacks did the marginal Josh Myers allow this past season.
How well did the rushing offense perform behind this marginal talent.
Oppy
January 29, 2025 at 09:28 pm
If you believe Josh Meyers performed above average during his time so far in Green Bay, there is no need for you to ever talk to me about line play in the future.
Josh Meyers is one of the poorest starting centers in the league.
Leonard
January 27, 2025 at 10:34 am
Myers has been a bust from day one and nobody wants to admit it. Last I looked he was ranked #34 in a league with 32 starting centers.
Mahomes is in the Super bowl. Of course his center is ranked in the top 4. I remember him, he was picked exactly one pick AFTER Myers. Plus, Mahomes has two other offensive linemen ranked top 10 at their positions. The Packers have ONE offensive lineman in the top 10. That would be Zach at #4. The Eagles lowest rated offensive lineman is #15. Our lowest is not even Myers, it is RG at 47th among guards.
We can't compete with the best, which was obvious this year, until we get linemen, offensive and defensive, in the top ten. Draft a WR in the first round, what for? If you can't block then WRs don't have time to get open or a QB time to go through their reads. And let's not get into run blocking. Jacobs is fantastic, too bad he is having to shed tacklers behind the line of scrimmage.
wayne iNWI
DoubleJ
January 27, 2025 at 11:47 am
"Myers has been a bust from day one and nobody wants to admit it. Last I looked he was ranked #34 in a league with 32 starting centers."
While I know PFF isn't the best, at least their grades are consistent. Myers ended this season with a 55.3 grade (60 is an average starter) so he was below average. Note that put him 49th out of 64 centers which means he wasn't even as good as some backups. His splits came to 63.4 pass blocking (about average but 37th out of 64) and 52.2 run blocking (well below average and 54th out of 64). IMO he is a replacement level player.
dobber
January 27, 2025 at 12:49 pm
With OL, PFF is about all we got.
DoubleJ
January 27, 2025 at 02:08 pm
Andy Herman released his season grades a couple days ago and Myers graded out to -2.70 on his scale. He was the lowest graded player on offense and 2nd lowest on the team. Only Eric Stokes had a lower grade at -3.75. Myers had 10 games where he graded out negative.
Bitternotsour
January 27, 2025 at 07:36 pm
no team regards PFF as a reputable grading source. NO TEAM IN THE NFL. so your initial metric is, well, shit. that a thing is consistent but also wrong just means that it's wrong.
Josh Myers allowed one sack this past season. ONE. We had a magnificent rush offense - how did that occur with a replacement level player? I'm perplexed. Was the scheme so incredible that it didn't require quality blocking? If he sucked so bad, why didn't teams just blow through the middle of the line and sack the shit out of Love and company. Your assessments defy logic.
Coldworld
January 28, 2025 at 05:54 am
No metric service portrays Myers significantly differently to PFFs assessment. There are examples of significant variations: ESPN rated Slaton as the DT with the highest run win rate in the league while PFF thinks he was horrible. Myers is not one where any disagree.
Myers gave up fewer sacks (1 in 2024 against 5 in 2023) but more pressures (31 in 2024 against 28 in 2023). He was also the player most consistently pushed back into the pocket and whiffed on the most run blocks. There is a reason that the GB RBs had among the least yards before contact in the league and Myers was the worst offender. Jenkins and Myers were consistently better in a mainly between the tackles run game.
bjkdad44
January 27, 2025 at 02:15 pm
Wonder why 5 downvotes???
FumundaStank
January 27, 2025 at 11:25 am
If he's the type of player that Gute and the Packers are looking for that explains a lot.
GregC
January 27, 2025 at 01:47 pm
So it explains why they are one of the better teams in the league?
bjkdad44
January 27, 2025 at 02:16 pm
Are they?….
crayzpackfan
January 27, 2025 at 02:31 pm
We lost 7 games, went 1-5 in the division (almost 0-6), Got bounced in the WC game and looked pathetic in the process. If the league didn't add and extra playoff team a couple years ago, we would have missed the playoffs 3 straight years. You call this one of the better teams? This is progress? You can definitely say we aren't a garbage team or a cellar dweller, an ok team even. But one of the better teams? If this were true, I would love to see what you think a great team is so I can compare it to this team. I think we have potential for sure. Not sure about our HC though.
NFLfan
January 27, 2025 at 11:30 am
There are several, vocal GB apologists on this forum who, for a variety of reasons, will undermine anyone who
utters anything less than stellar reviews about Myers or a number of other troubling players. I have a few guesses as to what motivates them.
FWIW-They actively interfere with those who prefer an adult, objective conversation and likely reduce traffic.
13TimeChamps
January 27, 2025 at 11:57 am
Thankfully, we have someone like you on here who realizes these apologists have a dark side with their nefarious motivations. Even if they seem to others to be good husbands, fathers, and overall good citizens, don't let them fool you.
Thanks for staying on top of this...and good work!!
NFLfan
January 27, 2025 at 12:27 pm
@ Tc=Exhibit B,
Exhibit A is a bit tardy
cdoemel
January 27, 2025 at 03:30 pm
What a fucking bullshit take that your constant bashing of the organization from top to bottom is “the way” to have an “adult, objective” conversation. Piss off!!
GregC
January 27, 2025 at 11:41 am
History suggests the Packers will move on from Myers, but all the praise from the coaches and GM at least make it interesting. Still, the part of Gute's quote that I keep coming back to is, "He's a UFA, so we'll see where all that goes...." Last year, Gute actually said they wanted Aaron Jones back, and they still didn't keep him.
dobber
January 27, 2025 at 02:09 pm
"History suggests the Packers will move on from Myers, but all the praise from the coaches and GM at least make it interesting."
The bigger the contract he signs somewhere else, the more it benefits the Packers WRT comp picks in 2026.
LambeauPlain
January 28, 2025 at 09:06 am
In fairness, Gutey offered Jones a contract he and his agent refused. So they took roughly $1M more to play for the Ugly Purple where he could be lead dog vs a back up to Josh Jacobs.
Gutey wanted to keep him, at a lower salary. Jones and his agent even acknowledged they would have to negotiate a lower salary for 2024 to stay.
Jacobs' signing changed Jones assessment & HE decided to leave. If fact they broke off negotiations shortly after the Jacobs signing was announced.
DoubleJ
January 27, 2025 at 11:43 am
""I thought he had his best year,”"
When your best year has you as a bottom 5 starting player, you should be replaced as a starter.
"Although the numbers show Myers has been below average throughout his career, the eye test suggests he isn’t a liability holding back Green Bay’s offense."
Except Myers was a liability and fails the eye test. At least once a game he would immediately lose leverage and give up quick pressure or a TFL on the RB.
"Starting-caliber centers like Myers are hard to find in the league."
Replacement level players are all over the league. With how he played it is almost impossible to find a worse starting C. He should be replaced and be relegated to a 2nd string role.
Felipe.Reis.Aceti
January 27, 2025 at 12:04 pm
I think it's fair to say he has some lapses from time to time, but saying that he actually makes the overall offense worse is a bit much imo.
Coldworld
January 27, 2025 at 12:37 pm
If he’s a sub par starter, then by definition he makes the line worse than average. He’s universally graded as a sub optimal starter and has been each year of his career.
I don’t know what to say, but if we keep playing him then that’s what we get and, if the OL matters (and I believe it really does) you get what you deserve if you do not strive to get better.
DoubleJ
January 27, 2025 at 12:53 pm
Those lapses can kill a drive. In the run game he doesn't get any push which means holes are less likely to be open OR contact is made earlier. In the passing game he can at least snap the ball but he doesn't anchor well and has problems with speed. Overall he does make the offense worse. Even if his deficines only account for a single score a game that is measurable AND the difference between wins and losses.
T7Steve
January 27, 2025 at 01:58 pm
He seems to make good blocks downfield. Unfortunately, they are mostly on passing plays after a whiff or when the RB is already down in the backfield.
LambeauPlain
January 28, 2025 at 09:15 am
I make it a point to watch OL blocking when rewatching Packer games.
Myers is not a hunter as a blocker after the snap. He's actually rather timid. Too often after his initial block, if successful or a whiff, he becomes a spectator and lets up. Unlike Tom, Jenks or Kraft... when they get to the second level, the are looking for a target and usually hit one, even if it is away from the play. Not Myers.
jvole
January 28, 2025 at 04:21 am
It's like watching Royce Newman all over again.
splitpea1
January 27, 2025 at 11:43 am
What Gute says and what Gute does are sometimes two different things. See Aaron Jones.
I don't know what the Packers will decide with Myers. An upgrade seems to be in order, regardless of how well he's liked in the locker room (and a replacement probably would be, too) , but they better also be finding some quality veteran depth on the IOL. When the starting left guard went down in the playoffs and we struggled the way we did, well....that kind of shocked me.
dobber
January 27, 2025 at 01:12 pm
After looking at the current list of 2025 FAs at IOL, it seems that the fastest path to improving roster depth will be through the draft.
Alberta_Packer
January 27, 2025 at 11:54 am
I think it's a matter of pure economics with Myers. I would conserve as much salary as possible on the O-line - in anticipation of both Tom and Walker extensions. So perhaps a configuration of Jenkins at centre - with Monk backing-up - Rhyan at RG and Morgan at LG. I would then earmark the potential Myers salary - probably 10+ m/yr. - for outside free agents.
dobber
January 27, 2025 at 12:43 pm
IMO the bottom line is that you get better when you replace lesser players who play meaningful snaps with stronger ones. Sometimes you keep guys you wouldn't expect--for who knows what reasons the front office comes up with--but they move someone else out in favor of a better guy. There needs to be a plan for player attrition, and I don't doubt for a second that the Packers' front office has a broad series of possible routes to follow.
Do I see a scenario where Myers comes back in 2025? Yes, I could see it on a low guarantee, low starter deal (something they could get out of after a couple years with minimal cap damage), if that fits with a plan enable them to accomplish something else to improve the OL. Is that going to happen? Probably not--the Packers seem to like to re-up their starters before they get to the off-season, and at this stage there hasn't been any substantive report of extension talks with Myers (that I'm aware of).
With that in mind, and prior to FA or the draft, it feels like they're going to barrel ahead with a mix of Jenkins-Rhyan-Morgan on the inside. Maybe they expect more from Monk (or Glover and Jennings, as pointed out above), but they need to add some quality players to the line this off-season, both to cover upcoming FA decisions and to cover their own butts on the depth chart. In general, all the hand-wringing over Myers at this stage seems like wasted energy.
Leatherhead
January 27, 2025 at 12:49 pm
I would hope that resigning Myers as a starter is not Plan A.
Move Jenkins to Center, put Morgan in at LG, and keep everybody else where they are. Look in FA for a dependable vet OL and spend a top 100 pick on an Olineman. Hope that Glover and/or Monk is better in the second year (that does happen sometimes.)
I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist this low-hanging fruit:
""Myers is the worst starting O-lineman we have and because he is a weak link he make the others worse by having to make up for him""
That certainly explains why we couldn't protect Love or open holes in the run game. And this year, who will be the weak link? Rhyan? And will he make the others worse? Then let's get rid of him before that happens. That will make someplace else the weak link, so we should get rid of him, too,
Coldworld
January 27, 2025 at 12:55 pm
On a pro football roster one should always be looking to replace the weakest starters compared to team mates and league peers both. The reality is that this is what happens in the cap era. Players either become impact players or they don’t get new contracts as teams restock with cheaper potential. The aim is to never pay for sub par. Next year it may be Myers or it may not be: the biggest deficiencies priorities might lie elsewhere on the OL or team due to play or contract, but yes we should be striving to upgrade.
LambeauPlain
January 28, 2025 at 09:26 am
Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
LaFleur is a status quo guy. He really is.
When it comes to personnel, he gets feet of clay. It could be he fears personal confrontation and difficult decisions. They are not fun but incredibly necessary.
And his imagination with personnel is limited to replacing coaches only when they leave (rarely fired...Hafley is showing him some sand getting rid of Rebrovich after one year), or extending/keeping coaches who are not performing (Bicassia) or bringing back retreads (Getsey). And with players, he seems more concerned about hurting players egos or coaches favorites. Myers is certainly one of those.
Bitternotsour
January 27, 2025 at 04:47 pm
Call me crazy, but I trust Gutekunst to do what's best for the franchise. If that means he re-ups with Myers, that's good by me. He was right to draft Love, he was right to send Rodgers on his way, he was right about Jacobs over Aaron Jones and he was absolutely right about McKinney. The cap is back to manageable and the team is both youthful and ascending.
I don't need to be the GM, or think I can do it better.
weird, right?
JohnnyLogan
January 27, 2025 at 09:33 pm
He was wrong about Gary, Van Ness, Stokes, Savage... It's a killer to miss on a 1st rounder and a massacre when you miss that many.
cdoemel
January 28, 2025 at 04:41 pm
Here’s what’s wrong with your take. Only about 8% of draft picks are players that really make much of a difference beyond replacement value, and only about 30% see much playing time or make a significant contribution to the team. That means among the 260 or so drafted players each year, only about 2-3 will have Hall of Fame caliber careers, and only about 21 will be undisputedly good picks- and very good but not HoF caliber players.
Overall, only about two dozen players every draft will go on to have significant careers performing at a high level. That’s not a lot - less than one genuinely good player per team each year. So people can Gute bash all they want but it’s not a Gute problem. In fact, he beats the odds regulary.
The numbers are from a SBNation article by Warren Ludford.
JohnnyLogan
January 29, 2025 at 08:59 am
I'm talking about first-round picks, and you're going by the entire draft. The percentage of first-rounders who make a difference is much much higher than 8%. Imagine if Gute had drafted even reasonably well in the first round and at least one of those many first-round busts had become a star where the defense would be. He's a good drafter overall, but he takes chances in the first round, where, instead, he should be looking for an immediate starter. It's not just that he made a mistake taking Murphy over Creed; he made a monumental mistake. And does almost as badly every year in the first round. The CBs he passed on last year were rated significantly higher than the lineman he drafted, and now we need CBs, so this year, he'll probably pick a high RAS CB and pass on a much better player. His first-round draft picks are usually based on a combination of need and high RAS. I wish he'd pick the best football player available.
Leatherhead
January 28, 2025 at 05:04 pm
And yet, we were the #6 scoring defense in the NFL and held the Eagles to 22 in the playoffs, as opposed to Washington which coughed up 55.
I think results count. Proof is in the pudding.
JohnnyLogan
January 29, 2025 at 09:01 am
The results are that we went 0-6 against the best teams we played and 1-5 in the division.
HarryHodag
January 27, 2025 at 04:54 pm
The questions that come up regarding Myers are two-fold:
How much will it cost to resign him? I suspect some team would be willing to pay him above market price. He's a young veteran and a team looking to upgrade their line might pay mucho. The Packers would need to decide if that money equals future performance.
The second question is who replaces him if he goes? They drafted Monk last year but it was telling that when Myers got injured they shifted Jenkins and then Rhyan to center. Oddly enough Morgan's status could also tell much on what happens with Myers. If the team thinks Morgan could start at either left guard or right tackle they could shift Jenkins(a college center) or Zach Tom to center.
This is another dilemma facing Gute this off season. I grimaced when he passed on Humphrey in the draft to take Myers. Humphrey is a main cog in a Super Bowl line. Myers is still finding his feet. Such is the draft. You can't forget many teams passed on Tom before the Packers took him. The draft is an educated crap shoot.
If I had to guess they will pass on signing Myers, shift Jenkins to center, Morgan to left guard and draft another o-lineman.
Hieronymus
January 28, 2025 at 01:26 pm
Yes I hate these conversations in a vacuum without talking money. So for the vet minimum - sure i re-sign him. For $10 million/yr which is top 10 for centers. - absolutely not. For say $2 million/yr which is around 23rd right now for centers - maybe? Then you go into your analysis on options and decide. The market is going to have a big say in the outcome with Meyers.
Leatherhead
January 28, 2025 at 05:18 pm
You can only afford to pay a few vets and everybody else is on a rookie deal. Right now, Jenkins gets paid and everybody else on that Oline is rookie deal.
When Runyan got $10M x 3 years last season, I kind of had an epiphany, and that was that you're not going to be able to retain most Olinemen for more than 4 years so you're constantly replacing guys. Once in a while, you'll have a really good Olineman , like Jenkins, and you can pay him. Most everybody else is 4 and out.
So, IMO, we move Jenkins to Center, Morgan at LG, and leave the other starters where they are. We use the money that people would like to spend on pass rushers on a FA lineman, we draft one on Day 2, we hope that Glover and/or Monk can play.
Simple fix. Saves money. But you've got to add Olinemen every year, and not just all on Day 3.
I wish Myers the best. I would reckon he'd get paid at least as much as Runyan got. But if we went with this fix, our Oline would be a stronger and deeper than last year. For one year, at least.
JohnnyLogan
January 29, 2025 at 09:03 am
Excellent analysis. Please send to Gute.