Packers GM Emphatically Defends Decision Not to Re-Sign Veteran TE

This offseason, the Green Bay Packers made the contentious choice not to re-sign tight end Marcedes Lewis. They will instead go with 2023 NFL Draft choices Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, as well as Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis.

Deguara is the most experienced of the four, and he was just injured in training camp. Lewis signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears on Friday morning. He joins Robert Tonyan, another former Packers tight end who signed with the Bears earlier this summer.

On Friday afternoon, general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media before of the Packers’ training camp session. During his interview, one reporter expressed confusion over the choice not to re-sign Lewis. as a mentor to Musgrave and Kraft. He asked Gutekunst to explain the decision:

LIVE: GM Brian Gutekunst speaks with the media at #PackersCamp 🎙️ https://t.co/GVT8Hvgefr

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 4, 2023

“First of all, he’s a really good player. So having good players, it’s always good to have those guys. But at the same time, when guys need to play and need the snaps, when [the veterans] are out there, the other guys aren’t”.

“It’s just part of it. With all the players that leave here, especially the guys that have done things, they are veteran players; and yeah, sometimes those veteran players are going to be better than some of these young guys. But at the same, you can’t get those younger guys up to that speed unless they play.”

Gutekunst went on to explain that there was a lot of talk about bringing Lewis back before the draft. However, when they picked Musgrave and Kraft, they made the choice to give the two rookies significant playing time straight immediately.

This is a genuine commitment to the Packers’ youth movement, and while their goals remain the same (winning the division), it does signal that there will be growing pains, which the front office and coaching staff are prepared to bear.

Fans will be disappointed to see Lewis in a Bears uniform, especially considering he just became the team’s best run blocker. It will undoubtedly make Weeks One and Eighteen more intriguing.