Packers’ 2023 free-agency rundown: Here’s the latest
GREEN BAY – The free agency is up and running. Here’s the latest on the Packers:
🟢 Added
🟡 Newly signed
🔴 Crazy
🔴DL Dean Lowry
details: Agreement with Minnesota, March 17
🟢 S.Tarvarius Moore
details: Signed at Green Bay, March 17
Instant analysis: Moore, a sixth-year player, was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round (No. 95 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft from southern Mississippi. He played in 61 regular season games with 13 starts during the regular season and recorded 87 tackles (63 solo), six passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Moore also registered 26 tackles on special teams. He appeared in six postseason competitions and recorded one tackle (solo), two passes defended and one interception, and three tackles from special teams.
🟢 LS Matt Orzech
details: Signed at Green Bay, March 17
Instant analysis: For the second straight offseason, the Packers dove into unrestricted free reign to address their special teams with the signing of Orzech. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound snapper has played in 50 career games over his three NFL seasons. He won a Super Bowl ring during his two-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams after breaking into the NFL in 2019 as a long snapper for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Packers will be Orzech’s sixth NFL team. He joins incumbent Jack Coco as the two long snappers in the Packers’ offseason roster.
🔴 WR Allen Lazard
details: Signed to New York Jets, March 17
Instant analysis: The Packers’ leading receiver from last season travels to New York after a successful four-year run in Green Bay. After signing with the Packers late in the 2018 season, the 6-foot-5, 227-pound receiver caught 169 passes for 2,236 yards and 20 touchdowns in 57 games (40 starts). Lazard had career bests in 2022 with 60 catches for 788 yards and six TDs. Lazard will be reunited with former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who serves in the same capacity in New York. Green Bay brings back a promising rookie class of receivers for 2022 that includes Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure and Bo Melton. The oldest wideout currently on the list is Jeff Cotton, who signed a futures deal with the Packers in January. Green Bay will likely get an equalizing election next year following Lazard’s departure.
🔴 TE Robert Tonyan
Details: Agreement with Chicago on March 16
Instant analysis: One of Green Bay’s finest unprocessed and developed stories, Tonyan returns to his home state after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Packers. A native of McHenry, Illinois, Tonyan caught 137 passes for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns in 68 regular-season games (17 starts). The 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end had his best season of 2020 when he tied Paul Coffman’s franchise record for a season for most TD receptions with a tight end of 11 in 2020. Ending the ACL injury in 2021 to be third on offense with 53 receptions last season. The Packers are slated to bring back former third-round pick Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis, with veteran Marcedes Lewis currently an unrestricted free agent.
🔴 DL Jarran Reed
Details: Agreement with Seattle on March 16
Instant analysis: The 6-foot-3, 306-pound defenseman returns to Seattle after a 2022 season with Green Bay in which Reed recorded 52 tackles, 14 quarterback hits and 2½ sacks in 17 games (14 starts). Reed was a second-round pick by Alabama in 2016 and spent his first five seasons with the Seahawks before signing with Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. Reed played 705 defensive snaps for the Packers last season, surpassed only by Kenny Clark’s 807 Green Bay will likely turn to 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt and third-year veteran TJ Slaton to close Reed’s gap in to fill next season.
🟡 CB Keisean Nixon
Details: New deal with Green Bay, March 15
Instant analysis: The Packers opened the new league year by retaining one of their best free agents. Nixon was one of the NFL’s best stories of the past season. After signing a one-year contract with the Packers last March, Nixon became the first Packers kick-returner to be named a first-team All-Pro since the Associated Press added the position in 1976. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound cornerback helped revitalize Green Bay’s special teams — first as a flyer in punt coverage and then as a kickoff returner in the second half of the season. Nixon broke the franchise record for a season average in kick returns (28.8 yards per return) while adding 17 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble as a slot cornerback on defense.
🟡 TE Tyler Davis
Details: New deal with Green Bay, March 15
Instant analysis: Davis, a core special teamer, had 10 coverage tackles last season and led coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s unit with 346 snaps (80.8%). The 6-foot-4, 252-pound tight end originally signed with Green Bay in September 2021 ahead of the Indianapolis practice team. In the past two seasons, Davis has caught eight passes for 61 yards in 31 regular season games for the Packers. Davis and former third-round pick Josiah Deguara are currently the only veteran tight ends signed at Green Bay.
Unrestricted Free Agents (9)
Limited Free Agents (2)
Players who may receive a year-long tender (first round, second round, and first-round refusal) allowing Green Bay to match any free-agent contract the player would sign, or receive a draft pick commission that corresponds to the first two tenders. There is no remuneration for the lowest bid.