Are the Green Bay Packers quietly tanking?

On paper, nobody is going to think the Green Bay Packers are the worst team in the NFL.

So the mere suggestion of this is going to agitate any Packers fan that happens across this article. Most Packer fans don’t know what it’s like to not have hall of fame quarterback play, so most just assume Jordan Love will be the next in line with no concerns that he may actually just, well, you know, stink.

But before you go any further, ask yourself this question- what is one thing the Green Bay Packers did since the conclusion of the 2022 season to improve their chances of winning games in 2023?

The answer is nothing. The Packers let every key free agent walk and didn’t bring in anyone of significance to the roster this year. So an 8-9 team from 2022, before we even discuss quarterback, has a worse roster now than it did then.

When you look at the draft, most of these players are considered developmental players meaning they aren’t stepping in and helping this year, they’re learning this year. Yes, they added Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks to “help” Love. But while these are players that could become assets, they won’t be much help in 2023.

Packers fans will simply retort, yes, so they can grow with Jordan Love. But that’s when you need to ask, does Brian Gutekunst expect that to happen?

I thought Jordan Love’s contract extension was odd from both sides. The Packers clearly had no interest in picking up Love’s fifth-year option, but also wanted to cover themselves for the 2024 season and make sure they had some type of veteran QB on the roster. From Love’s vantage point, he certainly didn’t bet on himself. Daniel Jones had his fifth-year option declined and made well above what his salary would have been in 2023. Love had that same opportunity, but chose to get a few more million guaranteed and leave millions potentially on the table for 2024.

If the Packers were confident in Love, they would have picked up that option and not hesitated. Gutekunst talked about how Love “hadn’t played,” and that’s what made the decision difficult. But after three seasons, they’ve been around him enough to have an idea of who he is as a quarterback, and right now, they aren’t impressed. Sorry Packers fans, it’s true.

The Packers have set themselves up, that if Love struggles, and I mean really struggles, this team could easily trade off a couple veteran pieces during the season or start giving more snaps to rookies over veterans if they start off 1-4 to “look to the future.” Suddenly, if a couple veterans aren’t on the field, a roster that is top heavy with not a lot of depth is going to look suspect.

Are the Packers targeting Caleb Williams and the first overall pick? Again, it’s hard to imagine the Packers being that bad, but this team could easily win just 4 or 5 games and be in prime position to select Drake Maye or one of the other top QBs that will be a part of the 2024 draft class.