GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When LeGarrette Blount signed with the Philadelphia Eagles last week, it closed the door on any NFL free agent who would have impacted the compensatory pick formula for the 2018 draft.
No signings made after that will impact the bonus selections for next year.
And it looks like the Green Bay Packers will be in line for a nice haul.
According to projections by OverTheCap.com, the Packers should get four compensatory draft picks next year:
A third-rounder for losing guard T.J. Lang, who signed with the Detroit Lions
A fifth-rounder for center JC Tretter, who signed with the Cleveland Browns
A sixth-rounder for tight end Jared Cook, who signed with the Oakland Raiders
A sixth-rounder for running back Eddie Lacy, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks
The only free agent the Packers signed who would count against them in this formula was tight end Martellus Bennett. According to OverTheCap, that signing canceled out the loss of safety Micah Hyde, who signed with the Buffalo Bills. Hyde would have netted the Packers a fifth-round pick, according to the website.
The Packers’ other veteran free-agent signings -- tight end Lance Kendricks and defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois -- don’t factor into the compensatory formula because they were not technically unrestricted free agents. They were street free agents because they were released by their teams before their contracts expired. Only veterans who played out their entire contracts count for compensatory picks.
Although the Packers received only one compensatory pick in the 2017 draft -- a fifth-round selection that they used on UTEP running back Aaron Jones -- they have been awarded the second-most extra selections (38) since the program began in 1994. Only the Baltimore Ravens, with 48, have gained more. The NFL allowed compensatory picks to be traded for the first time in this year’s draft.