Getty Hunter Henry #86 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrates after a three-yard touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during their NFL game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 12, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Green Bay Packers unveiled a hidden gem in Robert Tonyan during the 2020 season, but would they consider potentially adding a second dynamic tight end to their offense?
Bleacher Report recently identified a “dark-horse destination” for six of the NFL’s biggest pending free agents for 2021, a list that featured Packers running back Aaron Jones and predicted he would sign with the New York Jets. Another prediction, however, saw the Packers locking down an impressive free agent of their own in Los Angeles Chargers starting tight end Hunter Henry.
Via B/R’s Chris Roling:
It might seem like the Chargers will do whatever it takes to retain Henry for the sake of Justin Herbert’s development, but Henry has negotiating leverage because teams don’t generally like to apply a second tag to players given the cost.
The Packers might want to take advantage. Green Bay has a negative cap space, but moves like cuts, restructured contracts and possibly losing Aaron Jones will help create room. Robert Tonyan was the team’s leading tight end with 586 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. The 6’5″, 250-pound Henry is more dynamic and would allow Green Bay to utilize two-tight end sets with Aaron Rodgers under center.
While Henry might seem destined to stay put, the upside could be hard for both parties to ignore.
Follow the Heavy on Packers Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Henry Coming Off Career Year in 2020
After the Chargers franchise-tagged Henry last offseason, the 2016 second-round pick caught a career-most 60 passes for 613 yards and four touchdowns while receiving the most attention (93 targets) of his five seasons in the NFL. Henry was also a favorite target for rookie quarterback Justin Herbert and developed a reliable connection with him.
There are reasons to believe, however, the Chargers won’t want to re-sign him. His health has been a looming concern over his career, having missed at least two games in each of his past four seasons. He also missed the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL, which was part of the Chargers’ rationale for giving him a tag rather than a new contract in 2020. The Chargers may also need to invest their resources in other places, such as their offensive line.
If the Chargers allow Henry to hit the open market, the Packers would be wise to at least inquire about his contract expectations. He would presumably come with a hefty price tag as one of the most talented free-agent tight ends available in 2021, but the injury history could potentially drive down his overall cost. And we know based on last year’s haul — Christian Kirksey, Rick Wagner, Devin Funchess — that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst likes his injury-discounted players.
Henry was ranked No. 10 on Pro Football Focus‘ top 100 free agents for the 2021 offseason.
Could Packers Realistically Afford Henry?
Sure, the idea of two-tight end sets with Henry and Tonyan sounds nice. Rodgers would no doubt wreak havoc in the passing game with the two of them running routes alongside Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard, but is it financially doable?
Technically, yes, but it would be highly unlikely given both the Packers’ salary-cap situation and other options for populating the position and salary-cap situation. According to cap specialist Ken Ingalls, the Packers will need to effectively clear more than $34 million in space in order to become cap healthy for the 2021 season. They also have some of their own free agents — veteran center Corey Linsley, perhaps? — to consider re-signing with money they do free up.
In other words, Henry — who Spotrac projects will earn $9.3 million per year on his next contract — would seem to be outside of the Packers’ price range, especially at a position not necessarily considered to be a weakness. The Packers do have decisions to make on Tonyan (restricted free agent) and Lewis (unrestricted free agent), but they could feasibly bring back both of them for less money than it would take to sign Henry.
The Packers will likely have to place a second-round tender on Tonyan to retain him, which Over the Cap projects will cost about $3.42 million, but the cost would seem worth it for a player who caught 12 touchdowns over 18 games this past season. The Packers also have a pair of developing third-rounders in Jace Sternberger and Josiah Deguara, the latter of which showed flashes of potential throughout his 2020 rookie campaign before suffering a season-ending injury.
A lack of confidence in Sternberger, who was a healthy scratch throughout the postseason, might motivate the Packers to acquire more tight ends, but an addition like Henry would still seem a bit unreasonable when weighed with other roster needs.
READ NEXT: Packers Fire Coordinator, Eye In-House Replacement: Report