The Packers are taking part in some fascinating monetary video games

The Packers’ means of doing enterprise is so dyed-in-the-wool it’s laborious to not discover once they’re doing issues in a different way.

And generally totally different feels unhealthy. Weird. Uncomfortable. Reckless, even. Especially when cash’s concerned.

First, the Packers spent $500,000 only for a have a look at Trevon Diggs, the previous All-Pro cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. One meaningless common season recreation and one (1) postseason snap later, his quantity is now occupied by a rookie kicker. That ought to inform you every little thing you should learn about how that experiment went.

Then, the Packers spent a cool $1 million to maintain embattled kicker Brandon McManus on the roster shortly after the beginning of the 2026 league yr. If there was a single participant accountable for the Packers’ season-ending meltdown in Chicago, it was McManus, who had hardly spent the 2025 season endearing himself to Packers followers to start with. Yet there he was, getting a seven-figure verify, solely to be reduce simply a few months later. (First Trey Smack took Trevon Diggs’ quantity, then he took Brandon McManus’ job. Can he be stopped?)

And then, the Packers shelled out a bunch of assured cash for his or her 2026 crop of undrafted free brokers, maybe the most important combo breaker thus far. Historically, the Packers have been fairly conservative about what they spend on undrafted free brokers. Not this yr. They had been keen to ensure fairly a bit of cash (in relative phrases, to make certain) to some precedence UDFA targets. That’s a major departure from the earlier means the Packers have achieved enterprise.

That’s totally different. That’s bizarre. That’s…fascinating.

It’s fascinating as a result of for each means these strikes could make your eyes go up, in addition they have an equally compelling rationalization. The Diggs transfer is flippantly scoff-worthy looking back, however had it labored out, even to a small diploma, half one million bucks is chump change for a helpful defensive again, particularly for a staff hoping to make a playoff run. Likewise for McManus. 1,000,000 {dollars} would change my life, however that’s sofa cushion cash for an NFL franchise, and burning it on a kicker, even a median one, was a hedge towards popping out of the NFL Draft with no kickers.

And spending on undrafted free brokers is the perfect transfer in any respect if for only one actually good motive: it exhibits the Packers can change. Yes, they don’t often spend on undrafted free brokers, however with no seventh spherical picks (after the transfer to commerce up and nab Smack; this isn’t a kicker column, I promise), that they had no different solution to reel in low-end expertise that they may usually have drafted. And with a restricted variety of roster spots out there (the pool of UDFAs was all the time going to be small, anyway), that they had incentive to go massive. Thus, the spending.

If all these strikes are investments of a form, the UDFA spend may be the perfect illustration of the time period. The Diggs transfer was a real lottery ticket; I don’t know of any critical soccer thinkers who thought he was something however cooked when he arrived, but when there was an opportunity, it was value it. McManus was a hedge. The UDFAs break down the analogy a bit as a result of they Packers are spending greater than they usually would right here, however they’re one thing akin to penny shares; low-cost, high-upside investments.

Whatever analogy you favor, it’s clear the enterprise mannequin has shifted a bit this offseason, and it’s fascinating to see — and inspiring. The Packers are able to change. They’re doing issues a bit in a different way, making totally different bets, and seeing what pays off. If something does, they’ll be properly positioned to repay the rewards.