Getty Alize Mack #86 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish makes a catch against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the game at Kenan Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Green Bay Packers have added another young talent to their tight end room with questions still unanswered about their starters for the 2022 season.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst recently signed former Notre Dame product Alize Mack to a reserve/future contract for the 2022 offseason. The 6-foot-5, 247-pound tight end was a seventh-round pick for the New Orleans Saints during the 2019 NFL draft and has since spent time on the practice squad/offseason rosters of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
Through three NFL seasons, Mack has only ever seen limited action in the preseason. He produced an 0-for-2 receiving line in two exhibition games for the Saints in 2019 and caught all four of his targets for 20 yards in three preseason opportunities for the Lions in 2021, but he also received mostly favorable pass-blocking grades from Pro Football Focus.
While Mack is likely a long shot to make the 53-man roster next season, he could have an opportunity to earn a depth spot or practice-squad role in 2022 depending on how the Packers resolve things with several of their rostered tight ends from last season.
Robert Tonyan Jr. and Dominique Dafney are both set to become free agents in March with Tonyan’s next contract expected to carry a significant price tag. Veteran Marcedes Lewis — who will turn 38 in May — could also become a cap casualty this offseason as the Packers look to cut costs. If the Packers move on from all three in the coming months, Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis would be the only two tight ends returning from their 2021 roster.
According to Over the Cap, the Packers are currently sitting at about $50.79 million over the salary cap for the 2022 season and will need to move back into the black before the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. ET on March 16.
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How Will Packers Handle Top of TE Position?
The Packers have a number of important decisions to make this offseason that could significantly alter the look of their roster for next season, one of which will be how they handle Tonyan’s impending free agency.
Based on Spotrac’s market-value estimates, Tonyan is projected to earn about $10.8 million in terms of annual salary on his next contract, which is a value that would rank him between New England’s Jonnu Smith ($12.5 million) and Washington’s Logan Thomas ($8.02). The Packers could afford that price point with the right moves and are already set to carry a $1.879 million dead cap hit for Tonyan regardless of whether they retain him (due to last year’s restructure), giving them additional motive to work out a new deal.
The bigger question is whether the Packers believe Tonyan is worth the money he might earn on the open market. He was fantastic in 2020 when he caught 52 of 59 targets and tied Kansas City’s Travis Kelce for the most touchdown receptions among tight ends (11), but he was noticeably less effective in 2021 before tearing his ACL in Week 8. He finished with 18 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 29 targets over seven and a half games and could still be recovering from his injury when the team returns for training camp toward the end of next summer.
Meanwhile, Deguara was serviceable for the back half of 2021 as the primary receiving option at the position and finished his second season with 25 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 33 targets. The Packers might still want at least one other pass-catching tight end to pair with him in 2022, but there is enough potential there for them to reasonably avoid paying a ton of money for Tonyan.