The 2023 season is one of transition for the Green Bay Packers. They have said goodbye to two long-time contributors, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and kicker Mason Crosby, who have helped them win a ton of games for nearly the last two decades.
Replacing two players of that caliber is never easy, which is why projections for the team this season are rather modest. Many people have already written the Packers off given the inexperience of the roster as a whole and having Jordan Love, a first-time starter, taking over for Rodgers.
While reviews for the team are mixed for this season, their long-term outlook is much better. If that youth develops and reaches their potential ceilings, the Packers are going to have a number of keepers from this group.
Over at ESPN, they did future power rankings, in which the Packers are more highly regarded than the 2023 power rankings. NFL analyst Dan Graziano also provided a reason that there should be hope in Green Bay heading into the future.
“There are few, if any, teams more dedicated to their way of doing business than the Packers are, and it tends to pay off. Only the Patriots and Steelers have won more games this century than the Packers. They prize stability in the front office and coaching staff, and in a time of significant transition at quarterback, they will lean on coach Matt LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst to keep them competitive.”
This will be the first time that head coach Matt LaFleur is going to be able to show what he can really do. There was some pushback from Rodgers right from the start about the system LaFleur was attempting to install, but with Love now under center, we are going to see it in full force.
The Packers aren’t normally big spenders in free agency but were especially quiet this offseason given the Rodgers situation. Gutekunst didn’t make many moves to bring in veterans but given their track record of unearthing talent in the NFL Draft and undrafted free agent market, the team should find some gems in 2023.
Stability is something very few franchises around the NFL have as regimes are changing as frequently as ever. It is the one thing the Packers can rest their laurels on, as they have a process that has proven to be successful in the long term.