The Green Bay Packers’ 2024 campaign ended the same way it began—with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Sunday’s defeat officially closed the book on a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations but ended with unfulfilled potential and plenty of frustration.
Despite flashes of brilliance, Green Bay could never overcome its shortcomings. The most damning statistic was an 0-6 record against the NFC’s top three teams. In those games, the Packers consistently fell behind early and were unable to mount successful comebacks.
Now, the attention turns to the offseason. The Packers have significant questions to address if they hope to contend next season, starting with these five Packers who are on thin ice immediately entering the 2025 offseason.
1. Keisean Nixon
Keisean Nixon’s game against the Eagles was a perfect encapsulation of the Packers’ season: flashes of talent undone by undisciplined play and critical mistakes at the worst possible moments.
Nixon opened the game with a bang—or rather, a thud—when he decided to take the opening kickoff out from three yards deep in the end zone. It was an unnecessary gamble that backfired spectacularly when former Packer Oren Burks delivered a crushing hit, forcing a fumble that gave Philadelphia prime field position.
Plays later, the Eagles turned that gift into an opening-drive touchdown, putting Green Bay on the back foot before the offense had even touched the ball.
Unfortunately, Nixon’s missteps didn’t stop there.
Late in the game, with Green Bay desperately trying to mount a comeback, he delivered a needless shove to Saquon Barkley well out of bounds. While the call could’ve gone either way, the unnecessary contact gave the officials an easy excuse to throw the flag.
Nixon’s penchant for mistakes has been a recurring theme throughout his time in Green Bay. Whether it’s poor decisions in the return game or lapses in judgment on defense, the Packers can’t afford these errors from a player they rely on in critical moments.
Nixon will almost certainly be back in 2025, but he needs to clean up the details. For a team trying to take the next step, the margin for error is razor-thin. Players like Nixon can’t be liabilities in the postseason or against elite competition.
2. Jordan Love
After a promising debut season as the Packers’ starting quarterback, Jordan Love entered 2024 with the weight of expectations squarely on his shoulders—and a $220 million contract to justify them.
Coming off a second half of 2023 that saw him guide Green Bay to a playoff upset over the Cowboys and nearly topple the 49ers, Love appeared poised to take the next step into stardom. Instead, his development plateaued, and Green Bay is left wondering if their massive investment will pay off.
The most glaring issue is that Love’s numbers didn’t just fail to improve—they regressed in critical areas. His completion percentage dipped, his interception rate climbed, and his knack for making big plays in big moments seemed to vanish.
In 2023, he strung together five regular-season games with at least 250 passing yards, a 67 percent completion rate, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. This season he had just one such performance.
And then there was the playoff game against Philadelphia. It was supposed to be Love’s chance to remind the league why Green Bay handed him the keys to the franchise.
Instead, he delivered a clunker: 20 completions on 33 attempts (60.6 percent) for a meager 212 yards, no touchdowns, and three backbreaking interceptions. In a game where the Packers desperately needed Love to rise to the occasion, he shrank under the spotlight.
Criticism is inevitable when you’re the second-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL, earning $55 million a year. That salary demands greatness—or at least consistent competence. Instead, Love gave Green Bay a season of maddening inconsistency and a postseason performance that fell flat.
The Packers have no choice but to stick with Love in 2025. His physical tools are undeniable, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance. But Green Bay didn’t pay for potential—they paid for a star. The pressure on Love next season will be immense, and whether he rises to meet it will define the Packers’ immediate future.
3. Jaire Alexander
The Packers face some unenviable decisions this offseason. While parting ways with expiring contracts is challenging enough, the tougher calls will come with players who are still under contract but might no longer justify their price tags…
Jaire Alexander, once the unquestioned centerpiece of the Packers’ secondary, finds himself squarely in that conversation.
Alexander is scheduled to count nearly $25 million against the cap next season, a hefty price tag for any cornerback—let alone one who has been unavailable as often as he has. The Packers could save $7 million in 2025 and over $27 million in 2026 by moving on from him this offseason.
When Alexander is on the field, there’s no questioning his talent. He’s one of the few cornerbacks in the league capable of locking down an opposing team’s best wide receiver. His instincts, speed, and ability to anticipate plays make him a game-changer in the Packers’ secondary.
Unfortunately, those skills are of little use from the sideline. Over the past four seasons, Alexander has played seven or fewer games in three of them. That level of unavailability is untenable for someone carrying one of the highest salaries on the roster.
The ideal scenario is simple: Alexander stays, gets healthy, and resumes his role as one of the league’s elite cornerbacks.
But the Packers have pressing needs across the roster and limited cap space to address them. That $7 million in savings could be the difference between retaining key role players or signing a reliable addition elsewhere.
For now, Alexander’s fate hangs in the balance. The Packers will have to weigh his immense talent against the very real risks of investing heavily in a player who hasn’t been available when it matters most.
4. Packers Wide Receivers
Love’s regression in his second year as a starting quarterback isn’t solely on him. The Packers’ wide receivers share a significant chunk of the blame for the offense’s inconsistency.
The Packers entered 2024 with a youthful and promising receiver corps—Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks. Each brought a unique skill set to the table.
Watson’s ability to stretch the field, Reed’s playmaking in space, Doubs’ physicality, and Wicks’ potential as a crafty route-runner were supposed to give Love a variety of weapons. The hope was at least one of them would emerge as a true No. 1 option.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, the group collectively stalled. Separation was a consistent issue, with defenses rarely needing to double-team or adjust coverages to account for any one receiver.
Watson, the presumed leader of the group, was inconsistent before suffering a season-ending injury late in the year. Reed and Doubs flashed brilliance in spurts but lacked the week-to-week consistency Love desperately needed. Wicks, still raw, showed glimpses of potential but also had his share of struggles.
The result was that Love often found himself waiting for someone to break open—only to face pressure and force throws into tight windows. The passing game suffered, and so did the Packers’ offense.
Green Bay could, and likely should, explore adding a veteran presence in the offseason. Imagine Love throwing to someone like Tee Higgins, a proven playmaker who could command attention and take pressure off the younger receivers. A true alpha in the room could elevate everyone else and establish a clear hierarchy.
Even if the Packers don’t go big-game hunting in free agency, the current group needs to step up. Year 34 is critical for players like Watson and Doubs, while Reed and Wicks must show growth in Year 3.
The window for developing into core pieces of Green Bay’s future isn’t infinite—and their next contracts, not to mention Love’s success, might depend on how much better this unit gets in 2025.
5. Lukas Van Ness
If the Packers want to take a step forward in 2025, their pass rush has to improve.
This season, far too often, opposing quarterbacks were given clean pockets, leaving the Packers’ defense scrambling to hold the line. The secondary was forced to cover longer than it should, and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley resorted to blitzes that left the defense vulnerable.
At the center of the solution lies Lukas Van Ness, the Packers’ 2023 first-round pick. Drafted 13th overall, Van Ness was supposed to grow into a dominant force on the edge. Instead, he regressed in his second season, delivering a disappointing encore to a rookie campaign that was already uneven.
After posting four sacks and 10 quarterback hits as a rookie, Van Ness managed just three sacks and six quarterback hits in 2024, despite an increase in playing time. That’s not the developmental curve Green Bay envisioned when they took a chance on his raw potential.
His athleticism remains tantalizing—he’s strong, quick, and powerful—but he still lacks the refinement to consistently win one-on-one matchups.
This makes Year 3 a pivotal moment for Van Ness. The Packers must decide on his fifth-year option after the season, and there’s no guarantee they’ll exercise it if he continues to plateau.
Green Bay has already declined Eric Stokes’ fifth-year option, showing they’re not afraid to move on from a first-rounder who doesn’t meet expectations.
The good news is that Van Ness has the tools to turn it around. If he can improve his technique and develop a go-to pass-rushing move, he could become the disruptor Green Bay desperately needs.
With Rashan Gary drawing double teams and Brenton Cox Jr. emerging as a complementary piece, the opportunity is there for Van Ness to carve out a bigger role.
The Packers are betting on him. Now, it’s time for him to deliver.
