Three full-season Packers offensive line starters have now been moved off the roster this offseason. Following the David Bakhtiari release and Jon Runyan Jr.‘s Giants defection, the team is cutting Royce Newman, per the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood.
Newman had moved into a Packers starting role as a rookie, coming out of Round 4 in 2021, but had settled in as a backup in recent years. Newman still started eight games from 2022-23, but the Packers made a big addition at guard this offseason. Green Bay is planning to kick first-round tackle Jordan Morgan inside to begin his career.
This move does come after the Packers gave Newman a pay cut. The team reduced Newman’s contract-year salary from $3.12MM to $1.25MM; no dead money will come from this cut. The Packers had reduced the former fourth-round pick’s role since he started for most of Aaron Rodgers‘ fourth MVP season.
The Packers also saw their O-line battered by injuries in 2021, with Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins spending much of the season on IR. Pro Football Focus never rated Newman higher than 50th among guards. He spent almost that entire season at right guard, before being demoted following six 2022 starts. The Packers now have Jenkins entrenched at left guard and Morgan set to play on the right side.
Although the Packers moved on from Yosh Nijman this offseason, they added Andre Dillard and are keeping fellow swing option Kadeem Telfort on their 53-man roster. Former third-round pick Sean Rhyan also remains on Green Bay’s roster as a top reserve.
Doesn’t he still have dead money on the cap sheet from his signing bonus?
If they reduced his pay that means they released him and re signed him to a lesser deal so there is no more Rookie deal. Besides the article says there is no dead money here.
He has a $124,836 dead cap hit according to both Spotrac and OverTheCap. Just cause it’s written in an article, doesn’t mean it’s correct.
Just because it’s in Spotrac doesn’t make it true either. They’ve been wrong plenty of times but it’s the site I use. They don’t always know every detail either.
Yes, which is why I found a second source in Over the cap. Both are the most used resources. He was cut last year, so his dead cap hit from his signing bonus was compounded to this year. Maybe that’s why there’s a confusion. When you cut a guy before June 1, 2/3 of the remaining prorated signing bonus goes on the current year cap sheet with 1/3 the following year. If you are post-June 1, those numbers are flipped.
Tough day for guys that had their passports ready for an international trip.
Jerry Seinfeld must have had a hand in this…he never cared for Newman.