The Green Bay Packers began chiseling away this week at their salary cap mountain.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday the Packers restructured the contract of nose tackle Kenny Clark, per a source informed of the move.
The simple restructure converted $7.2 million of salary and $6.4 million of a roster bonus into a $13.6 million signing bonus. Green Bay also added two voidable years to the current deal, per Pelissero, spreading out his cap hit.
The restructure clears $10.8 million of cap space for 2022.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst commented on Clark's contract when talking to reporters Wednesday.
"We touched Kenny’s contract and there will be much more that we touch along the way," Gutekunst said, per The Athletic.
Normally, simple restructures are barely notable. Most teams use them to push cap charges into future seasons and free up space in the coming season. But with Green Bay sitting $42.7 million above the projected salary cap in 2022, per Over The Cap, before the move with Clark, it’s a notable first step.
As he said Wednesday, this is likely not the final restructure we see from Gutekunst in the coming weeks, as Green Bay works to get under the salary cap before the new league year. With questions about the futures of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams looming, the Packers need as much wiggle room this season as possible.