GREEN BAY — Not only did the Green Bay Packers get both of their veteran free-agent nose tackles — B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion — back in the fold with 1-year deals, but they did so on the relative cheap.
As a result, the team still has more than $18 million in salary-cap space.
According to a source with access to the NFL Players Association contract database, Cuion's one-year, $2.75 million contract includes a $1.5 million base salary and $1.15 million in roster bonus money that will pay him $71.875 for every game he is active. He also received a $100,000 workout bonus.
He did not receive a signing bonus or any guaranteed money, meaning the Packers are protected if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspends Guion in the wake of his Feb. 3 arrest for felony drug and gun possession in his hometown of Starke, Fla. Guion avoided prosecution by agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine but is still subject to NFL discipline.
Filling in for an injured Raji, the 27-year-old Guion registered 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks while starting all 18 games (including playoffs) last season. He and the Packers were in talks for a long-term deal late in the season, so his arrest appears to have cost him the security and guaranteed money a long-term deal would have provided.
Raji, who missed the season with a ruptured biceps tendon suffered in the third preseason game in August, also got a one-year deal but received some guaranteed money.
Raji's deal includes a $1.15 million base salary, a $500,000 signing bonus and $100,000 workout bonus. Multiple reports said Raji's deal could be worth as much as $3.5 million with incentives, but those incentives are considered in the unlikely-to-be-earned category because he's coming off an injury.
Jason Wilde wrote: