TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The Packers have officially announced their new deal with Raji in a press release.
MONDAY, 3:22pm: According to Rapoport (via Twitter), Raji and the Packers have agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, with incentives that can increase the value to about $4MM.
10:24am: After reaching an agreement with Letroy Guion, the Packers also appear poised to retain another one of their free agent defensive tackles. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that B.J. Raji is expected to return to the Packers on a one-year contract. Earlier today, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com wrote that Green Bay had offered Raji a one-year deal worth less than $2MM.
Raji, 28, missed the entire 2014 campaign after tearing his right bicep during the preseason, but he stayed with the team throughout the season to rehab and should be back at full strength by training camp. The veteran has played in 76 games for the Packers since they drafted him ninth overall out of Boston College in 2009.
After spending several years as Green Bay’s nose tackle, Raji moved over to defensive end in the Packers’ 3-4 scheme during the 2013 season, and struggled with the transition. He had been expected to return to the nose tackle role last year before he landed on injured reserve.
Raji earned $4MM on his one-year deal with the Packers in 2014, so assuming he agrees to the terms reported by Demovsky, it looks like he’ll be accepting a sizable pay cut. However, it’s possible that his agreement with Green Bay will include incentives and/or per-game roster bonuses — because he didn’t play a single game last year, any per-game roster bonuses for Raji would be considered unlikely to be earned, meaning they wouldn’t initially count against the team’s cap.
Bill Huber of Packer Report initially reported last month that Raji would likely re-sign with the Packers.