Mentioned as a player who could move toward the top tier of the slot cornerback market, Nate Hobbs has done so. The Packers are adding the four-year Raiders regular.
Hobbs is heading to Green Bay on a four-year, $48MM deal, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The veteran slot defender will see $16MM guaranteed. This comes after a season that featured Keisean Nixon playing more on the outside. If the Packers indeed have a slot-only role for Hobbs planned, this is that market’s new ceiling. Incentives could take the deal to $50MM, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky adds.
The only slot corner included on PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents list, Hobbs has drawn trade interest in the past. The 49ers were among the teams to pursue him, but no deal came to pass, keeping Hobbs in Las Vegas. The Raiders have now lost three of their free agent defenders, seeing Tre’von Moehrig join the Panthers and Robert Spillane agree to terms with the Patriots.
A decade after All-Decade slot corner Chris Harris moved past $8MM per year, the slot market still resided south of $10MM AAV entering the 2024 offseason. Movement took place involving veterans Kenny Moore and Taron Johnson, with younger Jets slot Michael Carter topping both. Hobbs’ Packers deal, AAV-wise at least, checks in $1.75MM north of where Carter took the market last summer.
The 6-foot corner played roughly three-fourths of his 2024 snaps inside; he was also slot-focused in 2023, logging 504 of his 775 defensive snaps there. Pro Football Focus ranked Hobbs 73rd among CB regulars in 2024 but has placed him higher (42nd in 2023, fifth in 2021) in the past. If Hobbs is indeed the Pack’s slot preference, Javon Bullard‘s role would stand to change.
Hobbs, 25, will join a Packers team widely expected to bid farewell to Jaire Alexander‘s $21MM-per-year contract. The Packers have shopped the high-priced corner to no avail. The team still has Nixon and Carrington Valentine rostered, but work may remain as underwhelming first-rounder Eric Stokes joins Corey Ballentine in hitting free agency.