Will The Green Bay Packers Change Their Stripes And Add A Player At The Trade Deadline?

The arms race is in full swing.

Will the Green Bay Packers choose to participate?

The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 3 p.m. (CST) and the Packers could certainly use some help.

Green Bay is 5-2-1 overall, and while the Packers lead the ultra-competitive NFC North, that edge is just ½-game better both Detroit and Chicago (5-3).

Green Bay also has just the fifth-best record in the conference and is coming off a dreadful 16-13 loss to visiting Carolina — a game where the Packers were a 13.5-point favorite.

A year ago, Green Bay couldn’t beat the top teams in the NFL. This season, the Packers’ losses have come against Cleveland (2-6) and Carolina (5-4), and they tied Dallas (3-5-1).

The word “urgency” has been preached throughout the organization since Green Bay lost to Philadelphia in last season’s Wild Card playoff round. And general manager Brian Gutekunst showed how serious he was by trading for All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons on Aug. 28.

Halfway through this season of great expectations, though, Green Bay still lacks an identity. Coach Matt LaFleur has failed to get his group to play with the level of consistency that elite teams do.

So can Green Bay win big as its currently constructed?

“I mean we still have yet to play a complete game as a team,” running back Josh Jacobs said. “That’s something that we’re striving for every day and not being able to do it does feel weird.”

Quarterback Jordan Love agreed that consistency has been an enormous problem for these Packers.

“We’ve got to find ways to be at our best, and … be more consistent,” Love said.

When LaFleur was asked Monday if Green Bay needs help at the trade deadline, he said: “I don’t think so, not necessarily.”

If the Packers are going to keep up with the powers-that-be in the NFC, Gutekunst will likely need to make a move or two today.

Philadelphia general manager Howie Rozeman is always on the attack to make the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles better. Philadelphia traded for Miami outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips on Monday to bolster a subpar pass rush, after acquiring cornerbacks Michael Carter II and ex-Packer Jaire Alexander last week.

The Packers and Eagles meet Nov. 10 in a game that figures to go a long ways in determining playoff seeding.

The Los Angeles Rams traded for Tennessee cornerback Roger McCreary last week. Dallas is trying to overhaul its defense on the fly, and you be sure others will be extremely active today.

Green Bay’s greatest needs seem to be at cornerback, defensive tackle and at tight end.

Cornerback Nate Hobbs, one of the Packers’ pricey free agent signings last offseason (four years, $48 million), was benched two weeks ago and played just 19 snaps against Carolina. Starters Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are serviceable, at best.

The Packers rank fifth in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (89.4) and ninth in rushing yards per attempt (4.0). But Carolina gashed Green Bay for 163 rushing yards on Sunday, and the Packers could certainly use an experienced defensive tackle to help make up for the loss of Kenny Clark — who was traded to Dallas in the Parsons deal.

“We really couldn’t stop the run,” linebacker Quay Walker said after the loss to Carolina. “We already knew what their mindset was, to come in and run the ball. We just couldn’t stop the run for some reason.”

Green Bay could also use tight end depth after standout Tucker Kraft suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 9. The Packers will turn to 2023 second round draft pick Luke Musgrave for now, but his 2 ½-year career has been a disappointment.

So what will general manager Brian Gutekunst do? Odds suggest he’ll sit idly by, or perhaps even trade a player away.

In 2018 — when Green Bay missed the playoffs — Gutekunst traded both safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and running back Ty Montgomery. When the Packers went 3-6 to begin the 2023 season, Gutekunst traded cornerback Rasul Douglas to Buffalo. And last season, with the Packers sitting at 6-3, Gutekunst traded defensive end Preston Smith to Pittsburgh.

From 2019-2021 the Packers won three NFC North titles and finished as the conference’s No. 1 seed twice. Gutekunst didn’t add anyone at the trade deadline, though, in any of those seasons.

Gutekunst probably needs to reverse that approach if he hopes to get the 2025 Packers over the hump. The trade for Parsons certainly indicates there’s an “all-in” approach to this season and Gutekunst could change his stripes.

While the Packers’ record is respectable, they’ve been choppy and lacked consistency all year. Perhaps a talent infusion is what the doctor ordered.

Now, will Gutekunst fill the prescription?