Per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, all vested veteran players who make teams in Week 1 will have their non-guaranteed salary for the upcoming season converted into guaranteed salary. Vested veterans are defined as players with more than four years of experience in the league.
This puts forces teams into interesting decisions, essentially having to make all-or-nothing bets on these veteran players from a cash and cap standpoint to start the regular season. Starting next Tuesday, NFL teams will
not only have their top 51 players’ cap hits count against their cap, but their entire 53-man roster, the practice squad and all of the players who they hold on their injury lists (injured reserve, physically unable to perform and non-football injury).
In short, teams’ cap counting is about to undergo rapid changes, at the same time that they must make these all-or-nothing decisions regarding vested veterans.
So who are the Green Bay Packers’ vested veterans?
In total, the team has 16 players with more than four years of NFL experience on their 91-man offseason roster. 12 of them are non-relevant from a guaranteed salary perspective, because the team is simply planning on keeping them:
- QB Jordan Love
- RB Josh Jacobs
- LG Aaron Banks
- C Elgton Jenkins
- DE Rashan Gary
- DT Kenny Clark
- LB Isaiah McDuffie
- CB Keisean Nixon
- CB Nate Hobbs
- S Xavier McKinney
- K Brandon McManus
- LS Matt Orzech
All of these players are starters. All but Orzech have multiple years left on their multi-year contracts.
Where the 2025 Packers will feel the impact of these all-or-nothing decisions is with their remaining four players:
- WR Mecole Hardman
- LB Isaiah Simmons
- LB Kristian Welch
- CB Corey Ballentine
Hardman was brought to Green Bay to help boost their punt return game, arguably the position that could have seen the biggest personnel boost under special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s tenure. So far, though, Hardman has only returned three punts for a total of 10 yards in the preseason. One of his returns was muffed and lost to the defense, while another was caught backed up near the goal line and stopped for a gain of no yards. On offense, Hardman is being used as a reserve slot receiver, behind Jayden Reed (who would return punts again if Hardman doesn’t make the roster), Matthew Golden and Malik Heath in the pecking order.
There were high hopes for Simmons entering camp, but his performance hasn’t been positive in the preseason, either. Just a few weeks ago, Simmons was pushing McDuffie for the team’s third-linebacker role in 4-3 base looks, which the defense plays about a third of the time. Now, there are clamors that both Ty’Ron Hopper and Welch should be ahead of Simmons on the defensive depth chart going into the preseason finale. Simmons plays a unique role on special teams, in that he’s a linebacker who plays positions that usually go to defensive backs, but the roster pinch the Packers are currently facing is putting pressure on the team to keep more tight end/defensive end/linebacker-type bodies (they play similar roles on special teams) than needing more defensive backs — especially if safety Zayne Anderson stays off of the injured reserve and the team can keep 10 or 11 defensive backs on the initial 53-man roster.
Welch has had a good preseason in Green Bay, especially on special teams. Based on reports from practice and limited looks that we’ve gotten of premier special teams spots this preseason, he’ll probably be a starter on the punt unit, kick return unit and kickoff unit, should Welch make the team. Last year, Welch also performed well for the Packers in the preseason, only for the team to release him. Welch didn’t re-sign with Green Bay’s practice squad and instead ended up playing 15 regular-season games for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens in 2024.
Ballentine left the Packers when his contract expired at the start of the new league year. He made about half a million dollars off the Indianapolis Colts in the form of a signing bonus before the Colts let him go this offseason. A few days later, he re-signed with Green Bay. Ballentine has started seven games defensively for the Packers as an outside cornerback in his NFL career and has played a total of 415 special teams for the team over three seasons. This preseason, though, Ballentine has been moved to slot cornerback, a role he rarely played in his previous stint with the Packers, on top of his contributions on special teams. If Green Bay is looking for a third slot defender to roster beyond Nate Hobbs and Javon Bullard, the debate will be between Ballentine and second-year draft pick Kalen King.
Whatever Green Bay chooses to do with Hardman, Simmons, Welch and Ballentine on cutdown day will tell us a lot about how the team wants to structure their roster for all of the 2025 season, not just in Week 1. As a reminder, vested veterans are not subject to waivers, meaning they’ll be true free agents, allowed to sign with whoever they wish, if they’re released from the Packers.
