The Packers have four defensive linemen among the potential free agents on their roster and coach Mike McCarthy said that it isn’t practical for the team to keep all of them.
That could lead to an opening for Josh Boyd. The 2013 fifth-round pick played sparingly as a rookie, but McCarthy said that he thinks Boyd is big enough to play the nose (where he could replace Ryan Pickett) and flexible enough to play elsewhere on the line.
“I don’t want Josh to bulk up,” McCarthy said, via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I think Josh definitely has the flexibility. He’s shown he can play the nose. He needs to take a huge step, and I think he’ll be one of those players that does in his second year.”
Pickett is joined by B.J. Raji, Johnny Jolly and C.J. Wilson as impending free agents. McGinn thinks Jolly might be done because of the cervical disc injury he suffered last season and reports that there’s been “tepid” unofficial interest in Raji during the combine. Raji turned down an offer from the Packers last year that was believed to be worth around $8 million per year and then turned in a largely uninspired season on the Packers line.
That could lead him back to Green Bay on a lesser deal and McCarthy said that Pickett’s return has “not yet” been ruled out, but it seems that Boyd will be in position to grab a larger role however the rest of the line shakes out.