The Green Bay Packers previously failed to make it far into the 2021 NFL Playoffs as they absorbed a tough divisional-round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. With the underwhelming outcome, the front office will certainly make significant changes to their roster in order to position themselves back as a title contender for next season.

However, a murky offseason awaits them as the future of their franchise QB in Aaron Rodgers has yet to be cast in stone. They are currently $48.5 million over the cap and the team will surely have to make crucial decisions for the players that they would want to retain for 2022.

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1 surprise roster cut for the Packers in the offseason

A player that could be on the edge for the Packers would be outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith. He has been a staple in the team's defensive unit ever since he arrived via free agency back in 2019. In his first season in Wisconsin, he racked up a career-high total of 13.5 sacks in 16 appearances.

The Alabama native then found himself putting up another solid campaign in 2020 with 12.5 sacks in 16 games played. Due to his high level of production, Smith easily became a fan favorite in Lambeau Field. However, things took a steep turn as he almost missed the entirety of the 2021 season due to a back surgery.

Smith eventually returned to the field and made his lone appearance of the season in their divisional round tilt against the 49ers. He managed to make his presence felt on the defensive end as he generated a sack and a hit to opposing QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Despite his contributions in that game, it was still not enough to save the Packers' season and even his own tenure in Green Bay as well.

Looking back, Smith inked a four-year, $60 million contract upon joining the team in 2019. In July of 2021, he previously had his contract restructured and was reportedly unhappy as a large portion of his 2021 salary was turned into a guaranteed payment, per Pro Football Talk. This then inflated his cap number for 2022 at almost $28 million, which is currently the second-highest cap hit on the team.

Currently, Smith is set to play in the last year of his current contract with a $14.5 million salary that is not guaranteed. Given this, converting such a huge sum of money into a signing bonus virtually means that he will most likely find himself on the waiver wire prior to the 2022 season.

Moreover, cutting him off the Packers roster will be a logical move to do for the team since they will be clearing around $15.3 million in cap number if they decide to do so. Unfortunately, not being able to perform in the 2021 season hurt Smith's leverage to agree to better terms with the team, on top of the fact that he's already unhappy with how his restructured contract has turned out heading to 2022.

With his current contract situation, it seems likely that he will find himself getting cut by the Packers in the months to come. The uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams made Smith an even more concerning liability, given his huge cap hit that they can opt to clear in order to strengthen their roster instead.

Looking on the bright side, the two-time Pro Bowler is still only 29 years old and can get back on track with another team once he's healthy. From the look of things, it might just be better for both sides to part ways and seek a change in scenery moving forward.