The Green Bay Packers reworked the contract of another veteran player to free cap space in 2021.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Packers restructured Dean Lowry’s deal, converting salary into a signing bonus to create nearly $2.5 million in cap space this year.
Lowry, who is under contract through 2022, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $4.1 million in 2021. Turning a significant chunk of the base salary into a signing bonus lowers his cap hit this year but bumps the hit in 2022 and creates a bigger dead money hit if the Packers want to move on.
The restructure guarantees Lowry, a 51-game starter for the Packers over the last five years, will be on the roster in 2021.
Not including Aaron Rodgers, Lowry was one of the last available veterans with a contract worth restructuring for the Packers. The team has reworked the deals of David Bakhtiari, Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos, Billy Turner, Mason Crosby and Devin Funchess this offseason.
In April, general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed he would have to restructure more deals before the start of the season to make the salary cap work for the Packers in 2021.
“We’re going to have to do probably a few things with different contracts as we head towards the season and into the season to make sure our salary cap situation not only this year but into 2022 is square. We’re not done yet. We’ve done a lot to get here, and we’ve been doing things as we go, and we’ll continue to do that as we go.”
Lowry turns 27 next month. He had three sacks and 36 tackles for the Packers over 16 games and 601 snaps last season.
List
All the moves the Packers made to get under the salary cap to start 2021
