Green Bay packers will have no trouble selling Pro Bowl runner Za’Darius Smith in a possible contract extension.
On Wednesday, in an unanswered tweet, Smith said, “I want to be a packer for life !!”
The message created instant speculation about the likelihood of a contract extension for Smith, which could keep him in Green Bay beyond 2022 (when his current deal expires) and help the Packers get out of the current salary cap.
According to Over the Cap, working out an extension with Smith could save up to $ 12.4 million in the 2021 salary cap.
Signed as the top free agent in 2019, Smith has produced 26 sacks, 60 quarterback hits, 29 loss attacks and five forced fights with the Packers in the past two seasons. He is second among all NFL players in quarterback hits and third in sacks since 2019.
Pro Bowler each of the last two years, Smith is still only 28 years old and is in the prime of his career.
Smith will have to count $ 22 million against the Packers limit in 2021. An extension could drastically lower his limit, which would help the Packers meet the $ 182.5 million salary cap at the start of the new league year. Currently, the Packers exceed the $ 9.4 million limit.
Smith, who produced the most sacks in his first two seasons with the Packers in team history, has a $ 5 million bonus pending on the third day of the new league year.
Even if work isn’t being done on an extension, the Packers could also turn a portion of Smith’s $ 10,750,000 base salary and the $ 5 million list bonus into a signing bonus, clearing up maximum space in 2021 but adding more money to the Packers limit in 2022