5 Packers who are playing their way out of the team’s 2024 plans.

These Packers players could be gone after this season.

The Green Bay Packers are going through a season in which, let’s face it, there have been some growing pains. Trading away franchise legend Aaron Rodgers was maybe a long time coming, but that doesn’t mean every transition at the quarterback position is going to go as smoothly as we saw the Packers transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers once upon a time.

Packers fans are finally getting a bit of a glimpse at what ‘normal’ NFL fans have to endure, frankly more often than not. Breaking in a young quarterback is not always easy, and it doesn’t exactly keep your team in contention. But beyond the quarterback position, there are interesting factors at play with this Green Bay Packers roster as a whole.

Which players have perhaps played their way out of the team’s 2024 plans at this point in time? Let’s take a look at five names.

5 Packers who could be replaced in the offseason

AJ Dillon

One of the most obvious players who isn’t likely to be back with the Green Bay Packers beyond this season has got to be AJ Dillon.

The former second-round pick out of Boston College is having his worst year as a pro statistically, he’s slated for free agency in 2024, and he’s simply not been able to maximize his opportunities to prove he can be a true RB1 in this league.

Dillon was a pretty tremendous secondary running back in 2021 and 2022, with seven touchdowns in each of those years as well as over 1,000 yards from scrimmage back in 2021, but the productivity and efficiency on a per-touch basis have dwindled significantly.

Jordan Love

Although it might be premature to write him off for 2024, there’s a very real chance that the Green Bay Packers could move on from Jordan Love next offseason. That will be largely dependent upon the alternatives, but we also have to consider the idea that Green Bay has — for all intents and purposes — never really been in this kind of a situation.

Not at least for 30-plus years, anyway.

The Packers are dealing with true NFL growth, which is non-linear. It’s not going to always be the Aaron Rodgers story. Growth and progression almost never happen in a straight line, so perhaps expecting that of Jordan Love is unfair, but the NFL is a results-based business. If Love doesn’t pass the eye test, even after just one season on the job, he could get the axe.

Eric Stokes

What is the old saying? The best ability is avail-ability…

It’s corny, but it’s true. The former first-round pick out of Georgia played 16 games in his rookie season back in 2021, but only played nine games last season and has only played in one game this year. That is simply not going to cut it when you are talking about teams needing reliable options at a critical position.

Stokes is a good player when healthy, but if the “when healthy” part is too few and far between, the Packers might have to send Stokes packing this offseason when he’ll be entering a contract year in 2024.

Christian Watson

Christian Watson was just a second-round pick last year, and he came from an FCS program, so I think some additional patience might be required in his case. Heck, it wasn’t until his fifth NFL season that Davante Adams finally eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving. You never know when that breakthrough is going to come.

But in the case of Christian Watson, it’s a combination of ability and availability. The former second-rounder has been impactful when given opportunities, but some Packers fans are starting to compare him to Will Fuller, the oft-injured former Houston Texans receiver whose career was plagued by injuries.

Watson has played in just five games this year, and while the talent is there, consistency is not. The Packers have been increasing Dontayvion Wicks’s reps substantially in recent weeks, and Jayden Reed has emerged as a more consistent threat in the passing game. Watson might play his way into being an offseason trade candidate at this rate.

Darnell Savage

Darnell Savage is a free agent after the 2023 season, and it’s probably just as well. The Packers are getting an extended look at a lot of their young players in the secondary right now, and if those young players step up, there might not be a place for Savage really even this season.