Green Bay thinks they got something in UNLV’s Johnathan Baldwin
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky broke the news on Friday that the Green Bay Packers guaranteed cornerback Johnathan Baldwin, an undrafted rookie signing, $115,000. For reference, the Packers’ seventh-round pick John Williams is only guaranteed $101,672 on his four-year rookie contract, per Over the Cap.
Green Bay isn’t known for guaranteeing a lot of money to undrafted rookie free agents, though, other teams do somewhat break the bank. It’s not uncommon for other NFL teams to spend in the ballpark of $300,000 in guaranteed money for their top undrafted free agent rookie.
So the Packers must like Baldwin, who was originally announced in media reports as a safety before being listed by the team as a cornerback. In truth, Baldwin is neither, as he was primarily a slot defender for UNLV. For perspective, Baldwin played 664 snaps in the slot in 2024 for the Rebels and only 92 snaps at safety. Baldwin is one of three cornerbacks the teams signed in undrafted free agency, along with Delaware’s Tyron Herring and Florida Atlantic’s Kahzir “Buggs” Brown.
While their contract details have yet to be reported, two other defenders who may have received decent guarantees by the team are Georgia defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse and Kentucky linebacker Jamon Johnson (formerly Jamon Dumas-Johnson), who were frequently graded as draftable players on analysts’ big boards.
At the moment, there are only four cornerbacks who are considered “roster locks” on the Packers’ 2025 roster: Jaire Alexander, Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine. That’s with the assumption that Alexander will return to the team, which still remains up in the air. Green Bay also drafted Micah Robinson in the seventh round out of Tulane, but they also drafted Kalen King in the seventh round in 2024, and he never made the 53-man roster. King spent the 2024 season on the Packers’ practice squad, along with fellow rookie Kamal Hadden, who was picked in the sixth round by the Kansas City Chiefs.