Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their football game on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wis. Tampa Bay defeated Green Bay 34-20.
2023 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Green Bay Packers. They fielded one of the youngest offensive rosters in the league and Jordan Love was in his first year as a starter. The team exceeded expectations and won a wild-card playoff game in dominating fashion. Expectations are slightly higher in 2024 as the team now has some experience under their belt. Here are three numbers to know before the 2024 season begins.
Green Bay Packers: 9.41 Million
The salary cap hit for the team’s wide receivers.
There have been some massive wide receiver contracts handed out this offseason. Justin Jefferson is now making $35 million per year, and AJ Brown is close behind at $32 million. Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and Amon-Ra St. Brown are all above the $25 million-a-year mark. More big paydays are coming for wide receivers, but the Green Bay Packers are sitting pretty. They will pay less than ten million for their entire group. In total, the contracts of all the players are just under $33 million.
Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks are all playing above their contracts. Furthermore, all four of those players are signed through 2025 or 2026. This is a group that can grow together and has the potential to bring a massive advantage to the Green Bay Packers for the next few years.
Green Bay Packers: .675
Matt LaFleur’s coaching winning percentage
LaFleur has not gotten enough credit as the coach of the Green Bay Packers. When he came into the league, everyone credited the winning to Aaron Rodgers. He has now proven he can do it with another player under center. The offense looked really good last year. It has often been the defense that has held the team back, but LaFleur hopes the change in the defensive coordinator will help. His winning percentage speaks for itself.
LaFleur has the highest winning percentage of any active coach. This beats out Mike Tomlin (.633), Andy Reid (.641), and Nick Sirianni (.667). Obviously, these numbers will change as more games are played. However, the fact he has won two out of every three games during his first stint as a head coach is an impressive feat.
A Jordan Love Number: 1
Number of regular season interceptions in the final eight weeks
Everyone will remember the questionable decision against the San Francisco 49ers, but Jordan Love took care of the ball in the second half of the year. After the Green Bay Packers lost to Pittsburgh, Love sat at ten interceptions in the young season. While he showed flashes of greatness, the knock on him was that he made too many mistakes. He fixed that in the back half of the season.
It was no shock that the Packers started to see success when Love’s interceptions dropped off. If the young quarterback can keep that momentum going for an entire year, the Packers should be in a position to have success again in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers will be a fun team to watch in 2024. They got even younger on offense and the new defensive coordinator has vowed to play more aggressively. Can they take this young roster on a deep playoff run?
