The Green Bay Packers lost one cornerback but signed another over the weekend.
Chandon Sullivan has followed Za’Darius Smith to the Minnesota Vikings, signing a one year deal with the NFC North rivals. Both will play for former Packer assistant coaches Mike Pettine and Mike Smith in Minnesota. Sullivan was claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019 and appeared in 49 games for the Packers with 20 starts over his three seasons playing primarily the nickel or slot corner.
The Packers then signed Keisean Nixon to a free agent deal. Nixon was undrafted out of South Carolina when he joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2018. He made two starts appearing in 40 games with the Raiders where most of his work was done on special teams. He will be reunited with Rich Bisaccia, the Pack’s new Special Teams Coordinator who also served as interim Head Coach in Las Vegas last season.
The NFL Owners meetings convened Sunday night in Palm Beach, Florida and Green Bay Head Coach Matt LaFleur spoke for the first time since the Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders for a pair of draft choices. In an interview with Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, LaFleur said parting ways with the All Pro wide receiver was “tough for me personally and for our organization.”
LaFleur was aware Adams wanted out of Green Bay even before the team applied the franchise tag on the star receiver. To appease him, the Packers acquired first and second round picks in next month’s draft from Las Vegas and cleared over 20 million dollars in salary cap space. LaFleur called the move “one of those tough deicisions” teams have to make adding, “you can’t look back and you gotta move forward.”
The Packers are expected to use the draft and potentially add a veteran free agent to replenish the wide receiver position which also saw Equanimeous St. Brown sign with Chicago and Marquez Valdes-Scantling join the Kansas City Chiefs.
The owners are expected to vote this week on the site of the 2024 NFL draft. Green Bay is one of three finalists to host the draft which has been conducted in cities around the league after being held exclusively in New York for years. Las Vegas will host this year’s draft, Kansas City was awarded the 2023 draft.
