Corey Ballentine: stay or go?

The Packers have 11 unrestricted free agents who will hit the open market in less than a month. Among those players is cornerback Corey Ballentine, whose future with the team is very much up in the air.

Reasons to stay: Ballentine played a career-high 534 snaps on defense in 2023 – mostly in place of an injured Jaire Alexander – and handled himself surprisingly well. His 80.2 passer rating against was significantly better than those of Alexander (107.1), Rasul Douglas (109.2), and Keisean Nixon (100.7). Ballentine has also been a core special teams player since being promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on Nov. 12, 2022. He’s played a total of 450 snaps for the Packers, including 203 last season.

Reasons to go: Ballentine never looked comfortable in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme. He struggled in training camp and barely played during the season (75 snaps), even though Alexander once again missed multiple games. Ballentine’s passer rating against soared to 112.5. He also turns 29 next month, making him one of the oldest players on the roster.

Verdict: GO

Due to his fine play in 2023, Ballentine signed a 1-year deal worth $2.1M last March. He’ll probably have to settle for the veteran’s minimum this time around, and even at $1.17M, there doesn’t seem to be much reason to continue this relationship. General manager Brian Gutekunst will likely add at least two or three new faces to the cornerback room this spring, meaning some old faces must be subtracted.