Green Bay Packers kicker Anders Carlson missed more extra points (six) and total kicks (13) than …
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur knows better than anyone that nothing stays the same in the National Football League.

Not in a league where the average career lasts less than four years and teams turn over between one-quarter and one-third of their rosters most offseasons.

So as LaFleur discussed the Packers’ 24-21 loss to San Francisco in the NFC divisional playoffs last Saturday night, he knew it wasn’t just the end of their 2023 season. He knew that group would never be fully together again.

“This is a special group and one of the tough things about the National Football League is that group will never be together again as a team,” LaFleur said. “There’s so much turnover each and every year, but their ability to stay together when a lot of stuff was hitting the fan I couldn’t be more proud.”

The Packers will undoubtedly look different in 2024.

Green Bay has 11 draft picks in April. For the first time in years, the Packers will have some room to attack free agency.

And a handful of players that have been major contributors in recent years won’t return. Here are five Packers that have likely played their last snaps in Green Bay.

This one is a no-brainer.

The 32-year-old Bakhtiari played just one game in 2023 and 13 in the last three seasons after suffering a devastating knee injury late in the 2020 season. The Packers have been patient as Bakhtiari tried making his way back to the field, but that patience has undoubtedly ended.

Bakhtiari carries a salary next season of $39.99 million, but has a dead cap hit of $19.06 million. So if the Packers cut Bakhtiari, they’ll pick $20.93 million of salary cap space.

Second-year man Rasheed Walker filled in admirably for Bakhtiari most of the year. Green Bay, which also has five of the first 88 picks in the draft, is likely to select an offensive tackle early.

“I can only control what I can control,” Bakhtiari said earlier this year when he knew his season was over. “I think making sure I attack the rehab, win the day, take the bites out of that elephant, finish the elephant, and then decide and see. They have decisions they need to make, what’s best for their franchise. I understood that the minute I got in here. And I’ve seen every face go. This face is going to go, too.”

2. A.J. Dillon, RB
Dillon has run for nearly 2,200 yards in the last three seasons and missed just four games in that time, all in the past month. But the former second round draft pick averaged just 3.96 yards per carry during that time.

This season, Dillon ran for 613 yards, but averaged just 3.4 yards per attempt.

The late-season brilliance of Aaron Jones — who carries a $17.5 million cap hit — virtually ensures he’ll be back despite a hefty price tag. That likely means Green Bay will go younger and cheaper at No. 2 running back.

“A.J.’s been a great member of our team and certainly I think you gotta have multiple backs in this league,” LaFleur said Monday. “You have to. It’s just the pounding these guys take and I think you could really see his value every year towards the end of the season. … I told him, shoot, I’d love to have him back here.

3. Darnell Savage, S
Savage, a first round draft pick in 2019, had two strong seasons to begin his Green Bay career. The last three, though, have been a struggle.

Savage is an elite athlete at the position, but he’s also a shoddy tackler with subpar instincts.

The Packers picked up Savage’s fifth-year option in 2023, paid him $7.9 million, then watched him play a career-low 10 regular season games and record zero interceptions. Savage did have a memorable pick-six against Dallas in the wild card round of the playoffs, but also dropped a likely pick-six the next week against San Francisco.

Someone might pay big money for Savage, believing they can still turn him into a star. It’s just unlikely to be Green Bay.

“It’s been a great time. I love this place, love Green Bay, love all my teammates in here,” Savage said Monday. “It’s a great place. That ‘G’ stands for ‘greatness.’ ”

4. Jon Runyan, RG
Runyan, a sixth round draft pick in 2020, has made 50 starts over the last three years and played high-level football.

Runyan, a college left tackle, is incredibly bright and has above average athleticism for an interior linemen. He allowed just two sacks in 928 snaps this year and his drive blocking has consistently improved. His presence alone makes any team a better one.

But the Packers don’t value guards, and have 2022 third-round pick Sean Rhyan waiting to become the permanent starter. Don’t be shocked if Runyan gets a better-than-expected contract elsewhere and goes on to play a decade in the league.

“Just had some meetings with some of the coaches,” Runyan said Monday. “Like I said, they like me, they appreciate me, they want me back. We’ll see how it goes.

“I don’t really think necessarily that’s going to be up to the position coaches and their call. It’s going to be coming from a little higher up than that. I’ve loved my four years here. It was a good time. I don’t know. I’ve really had a fun time.”

5. Anders Carlson, PK
Truth be told, Carlson never should have been on the roster in 2023.

He was an inconsistent college kicker with a big leg who then became the least reliable kicker in the National Football League. Carlson missed more extra points (six) and overall kicks (13) than anyone in football, including a brutal 41-yard, late-game field goal in the Packers’ three-point loss to San Francisco Saturday.

“I think if we had the answer we would have fixed it, right,” LaFleur said of Carlson’s woes.

The Packers felt they could go young and cheap at kicker this season, believing it would make little difference in what most believed would be a rebuilding year. That mentality should have changed, though, when Green Bay exceeded expectations and made the postseason.

The Packers will be among the NFC favorites in 2024, and can’t make a deep postseason run with arguably the worst kicker in football. Look for Green Bay to bring in competition this offseason and find a more reliable option than Carlson in 2024.