How the Packers have answered their biggest offseason questions through key decisions in free agency and the NFL Draft

Back in January, right after the Green Bay Packers lost in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles, we wrote an article about the 10 biggest offseason questions the team would have to answer over the following few months.

For the most part, the 2025 roster is built. Sure, it's still possible to add a piece here and there, but the bones of the group are in place. So let's go back to those 10 questions, and see how the Packers attacked them.

1) Are the Packers happy with their receiving core?

The answer was no. At least, not for the long term, and that's why they drafted two wide receivers in the first three rounds for the first time ever—and used a first-round pick to get one for the first time since 2002. The additions of Matthew Golden and Savion Williams don't mean the older receivers won't get playing time or opportunities, but that means the Packers will be okay moving on from some of them next offseason—Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Mecole Hardman are free agents, while Malik Heath and Bo Melton are slated to be restricted free agents.

It's impossible to keep everyone, and now the Packers are in a much better position to make their choices based on production.

2) Will Jaire Alexander return?

The answer is still we don't know. All options are still on the table for the former All-Pro cornerback, including parting ways with him—which seemed as the most likely scenario all the way through. However, recent developments indicate that the Packers are more willing to find a way to keep Jaire around, which would certainly include a contract adjustment.

Right now, Jaire is slated to make $17.5 million, a number that the Packers simply won't pay. If Alexander doesn't agree to a paycut, the Packers will probably release him at some point—and this is why a trade is actually so hard to pull off.

3) What is the priority to add a big defensive piece?

This is a curious one, because the most expensive defensive addition was a cornerback in Nate Hobbs, but it doesn't feel as much like the Packers are philosophically prioritizing the defensive backs. So, it's absolutely possible to say that the most impactful addition could be defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington.

Green Bay believes that Covington over Jason Rebrovich will give it the ability to truly develop the defensive front, something the Packers failed to accomplish over the past few years. The investment and the talent are presumably there with Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, and Devonte Wyatt, so if the Packers can take more out of them, it will be more impactful than any player addition they made in 2025.

4) Will the Packers keep their free agency modus operandi?

They did, for the most part. The Packers have been all or nothing to add external players, targeting specific players and paying them whatever it takes to add them—and this is probably how they ended up paying $17 million a year to left guard Aaron Banks. Nate Hobbs is more of an exception, a mid-level free agent signing, and that's because they truly needed bodies at cornerback.

The additions of Mecole Hardman, Kristian Welch, and Isaiah Simmons close to the veteran minimum are also a process they've frequently used.

More importantly, the way the Packers structure contracts hasn't changed. It's a big signing bonus, and nothing guaranteed beyond that.

5) How active will Brian Gutekunst be?

He was fairly active, but not more than he had been in previous offseasons. So the "ramp up the sense of urgency" sentence during his after-season press conference wasn't exactly applicable to himself. Gutekunst added two big pieces in free agency and finally drafted a wide receiver in the first round, but the Packers did what they do.

"We're really process-driven around here, being in this thing every single year," he said in the same press conference of the sense or urgency phrase. "You try not to look too far down the road, more than two or three years out, but I'm not a big believer in windows."

That part of the presser didn't make many headlines, though.