What are the prospects for the Packers pulling off a trade by the deadline? | Pete Dougherty

Packers’ Micah Parsons on being NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons talks about his play and his recent honor of NFC Defensive Player of the Month.

• The Green Bay Packers are reportedly seeking to acquire a cornerback before the Nov. 4 trade deadline.
• A trade for a quality cornerback appears unlikely due to high costs and a limited market for available talent.
• Instead of a cornerback, the Packers might find it easier to acquire a run-stopping defensive tackle.

GREEN BAY – Last year just before the NFL trade deadline, the Washington Commanders were the surprise of the NFL with a 5-2 record and skyrocketing hopes because of exciting rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. 

Smelling a chance to make a playoff run, the Commanders tried to upgrade their shaky secondary by sending, in essence, a third-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints for Marshon Lattimore. 

Lattimore had been a first-team All-Pro in two of his first three NFL seasons but at age 28 was diminished by age and three years of injuries. For any excitement the trade brought to the franchise last November, it’s a deal Washington surely would like to have back. 

Lattimore played in only two of eight regular-season games after the trade because of a hamstring injury. Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown torched him in the NFC championship game. And this season, with salary and bonuses of $18 million, Lattimore has been a starter for a struggling Commanders pass defense that ranks last in the NFL in yards allowed per pass attempt, and No. 29 in defensive passer rating. 

It’s a cautionary tale, as if another is needed, about the Green Bay Packers’ search for cornerback help with the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline less than a week away. 

Two high-ranking scouts for NFL teams said this week the Packers have been calling around about cornerbacks going back to training camp. General manager Brian Gutekunst and his staff no doubt would like to add a capable one, especially now with last week’s benching of Nate Hobbs, who as a free agent was their big offseason addition at that position. 

But it appears the prospects of Gutekunst trading for a cornerback are low. The biggest reason is cost. Even bad teams looking to add draft picks aren’t selling decent cornerbacks at a discount, and after giving up two first-round picks for Micah Parsons, Gutekunst surely will not be inclined to part with any other higher-round draft picks in the next two years. 

That leaves good reason to doubt that Gutekunst will find a cornerback at a palatable price who’s any better than what he has in Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and even the struggling Hobbs. 

There’s not a lot of talent available at outside corner

Two cornerbacks already have been dealt in recent trades: Roger McCreary from the Titans to the Rams for a flip-flop of late-round picks, and Michael Carter II from the Jets to the Eagles, also for a late-round flip-flop plus a throw-in, receiver John Metchie III (four receptions this season). 

It’s telling that both play the slot, not the outside position the Packers need. Hobbs, likewise, played slot with the Raiders, and the Packers paid him $12 million a year projecting him as a full-time outside corner. That hasn’t worked out, and it’s hard to see Gutekunst making a similar projection again in a trade. 

“There’s a lot of teams that need an outside (corner),” one of the scouts said. “I don’t think the corner play in the league is great right now. I don’t know if there’s someone who’s available that’s going to solve a problem. We haven’t been playing the starting corner market, so I don’t know if there’s somebody available I’m not aware of. 

“But when you look at the bad teams, who’s really selling? Miami would sell, but they have the worst corner group in the league. Cleveland, I don’t know if Cleveland would sell on the defensive side of the ball. They’d be more inclined to sell on the offensive side, because their defense is really good.” 

One of the scouts mentioned Cam Taylor-Britt, a 2022 second-round pick by the Bengals, as an outside corner worth looking into. He’s in the last year of his rookie contract and was a starter the previous two years and first two games of this season. But beginning in Week 3 he’s seen his weekly playing time yo-yo from zero snaps to as many as 55, and was a healthy scratch two weeks ago before playing three-quarters of the snaps last week. 

The Bengals, though, aren’t much for dealing players they’ve drafted, and the scout guessed it would take a fourth-round pick to get them to bite.  

“I don’t think (Gutekunst) would do it on a one-year rental,” the scout said. 

No, he would not, and should not. Or a fifth, either. 

It’s worth remembering that as much as Hobbs has struggled since returning from surgery on a knee-cartilage tear early in camp, it wasn’t like the Packers were the only team that liked him in free agency. One of the scouts thought the Packers overpaid at $12 million a year, but the other’s team was in the cornerback market and seriously considered signing Hobbs. 

That scout’s team also projected that Hobbs could play outside cornerback even though he was primarily a nickel back with the Raiders. The only reservation was an arrest from Hobbs’ rookie season for reckless driving after he was found asleep at the wheel in the exit lane of a parking garage in the early-morning hours. 

“I wasn’t sure how expensive he would be,” the scout said. “When they signed him I thought it was a good deal, fair deal for both sides.” 

The Packers replaced Hobbs with Valentine last week for a reason, and Valentine’s solid performance against the Steelers surely means he’ll be the starter for at least this week. But it’s a given Hobbs will get a chance to prove his signing wasn’t a swing-and-miss, because injuries to the secondary are inevitable, and he’s still the next man up. 

“This isn’t the last you’re gonna see Nate Hobbs,” said Jeff Hafley, the Packers’ defensive coordinator. 

An easier need to fill may be defensive tackle

There’s still a good argument the Packers need a run stopper at defensive tackle also. A one-dimensional player for that role surely is easier to find than a cornerback. 

Statistically, the Packers’ run defense has been very good: It ranks No. 4 in the NFL in average yards allowed per carry (3.7). 

But it’s worth noting that before Steelers guard Isaac Seumalo (pec injury) left last week’s game at halftime, running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell had 81 yards rushing and a 5.4-yard average. 

With the Steelers no longer deploying their jumbo package because their designated extra lineman, Spencer Anderson, became the left guard, they abandoned the run. In the second half, Warren and Gainwell had only three carries for 12 yards. 

In other words, the Packers still should be on the lookout for run-stopping help after including Kenny Clark in the Parsons trade. There has to be somebody out there a team is ready to unload because of age or salary who might help the Packers for half a season at only the price of flip-flopping late-round picks. 

The Packers also could trade a player at a position of depth instead of a dealing a pick. But for a team with the best record in the NFC and that expects to contend for the Super Bowl, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to erode depth it very well might need. 

Football is a game of injury attrition, and parting with, say, Romeo Doubs or Luke Musgrave would be trying to plug one hole but possibly creating another. 

Doubs would probably draw the most interest from other teams among the Packers’ receivers. But being in the last year of his contract will depress his value, because no one is going to pay a lot for a rental. But more to the point, considering the injury issues that Christian Watson (just returned from ACL surgery), Jayden Reed (on IR, foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (out with a calf injury) have had in recent seasons and weeks, would it be smart for the Packers to bank on them remaining healthy the rest of this year? No. 

Musgrave probably would be more attractive to other teams because he’s under contract for 2026. But while Tucker Kraft has yet to miss a game in his 2½ seasons, that doesn’t mean the Packers’ fast-ascending tight end won’t get injured. 

Musgrave isn’t as good as Kraft, but he’s a tall, fast backup with receiving talent who would be a threat in the passing game if Kraft went down. The Packers don’t have another backup tight end like him. It’s hardly far-fetched to think they might need him at a key point this season. A team would have to offer a pretty talented cornerback to get me to trade Musgrave if I were Gutekunst.

The other possibility is kicker Lucas Havrisik, whose recent 10-for-10 run kicking in place of injured Brandon McManus included a 61-yard field goal. One of the scouts thought the Packers at most could get a conditional seventh-rounder for him and thought they’d have a decent shot at sneaking him through waivers and re-signing him to their practice squad if they need his roster spot. 

With McManus coming back from an injury to his kicking leg, the Packers are probably best off keeping Havrisik on their 53 for as long as they can. If they ever need his roster spot because of injuries, they could then hope he slips through waivers and sign him to their practice squad. 

They might even convince him to stay there by paying the NFL’s minimum salary rather than practice-squad scale, though he’d have to feel good about winning their kicking job next season to pass up a chance to kick for another team now. 

At any rate, the trade deadline is closing fast. There have been 10 in-season trades this year; last season had 18. 

There surely will be a few 11th-hour deals early next week, right up to the deadline. But the guess here is it won’t include the Green Bay Packers bringing in a new cornerback.