Beleaguered Packers Coach Makes Admission on Early Struggles

Anyone who has paid attention to the Packers in the past month-plus is well aware that the team’s last two games–while frustrating on a few different levels–still could have, and perhaps should have, resulted in Green Bay wins if not for critical special-teams errors.

There was the blocked field-goal allowed that would have cinched a win in Cleveland with 27 to go in the game, and instead was flipped into a Browns game-winner. There was the missed extra point, too, against the Cowboys in Week 4, a game that ended in an unsatisfying tie. In that one, the Packers wound up with some perplexing plays in the return game, too.

All that raised the question over the bye week about what’s happening with the Packers special teams and whether changes–specifically, the removal of veteran coach Rich Bisaccia–were needed.

Rich Bisaccia’s Job Is Safe

The notion of dumping Bisaccia never gained much traction in the building, but it was a topic among fans and media members. And Bisaccia spoke about it this week, admitting that the team’s high-leverage special teams plays have fallen flat too often.

Bisaccia pointed out that there have been some pluses for the Packers’ special teams.

He said: “It’d be easy to come in here and cite some of the things that we’ve done really well. I just don’t live in that world. I think I do a better job with the players, of, here’s what we’ve done, here’s what we’ve got to keep building on.

“But really it’s kind of incumbent on me, or incumbent on us, to be critical of the other parts that we need to get better at. So, it’s not really all gloom and doom. Nothing’s going to happen to kill my spirit or attitude. I know we have some issues that we have to correct. But as a whole, we’ve covered pretty good now, I think, on kickoffs. I think our punter is playing really well.

“We had a drive start at the 5, a drive start at the 11 in the last game. I think we have a lot of things to build on. We’ve had some pieces go down in crazy situations.”

Packers Remain ‘A Work in Progress’

Of course, the problem with special teams is that mistakes are magnified. While a game might run 70-plus plays, special teams will only account for a handful each week. With 24 years as an NFL special teams coach, and the last three with the Packers, Bisaccia has a thick skin.

“I have learned to be, I’m certainly self-confident enough to be self-critical,” he said. “I can promise you that there’s no question that you could ask that’s going to be, like, I’m going to want to fight somebody, something like that.

“Trust me, I’ve been through worse. I’ve been through a lot better, and I expect, hopefully, not to go through anything worse. But I expect better to come.”

He is, he said, focused on the Packers’ progress, not perfection: “I like to think we are always going to be a work in progress. I tell you guys all the time, special teams is one play. And that one play, magnified over time, it’s going to be a big play in the game.”

Shocking Report: Vikings Could Be On the Brink of Losing $66 Million Pro Bowler – Is This the End of an Era?

The Minnesota Vikings will face some tough decisions next offseason and could lose some of the more prominent members of their roster because of financial considerations.

Among those players is two-time Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. He has the third-largest overall deal of any tight end in the NFL, behind only George Kittle and Trey McBride. Hockenson also makes the fourth-most money in annual average salary, behind only his two aforementioned peers and Travis Kelce.

Hockenson is playing in the second season of his four-year, $66 million extension in 2025, though the Vikings have an out in the contract for the price of $12.5 million.

Darren Wolfson of KSTP said on the SKOR North podcast Friday, October 10, that Hockenson may not be back next season because of how pricey his deal is. Wolfson added that if the tight end does return to Minnesota in 2026, he will do so as part of a restructured agreement.

“I’m not there yet on next March you have to shop Jordan Addison” 🙅‍♂️

– @DWolfsonKSTP on #Vikings WR Jordan Addison

“You look at the T.J. Hockenson contract for next year, he certainly isn’t playing next year under the terms of that deal,” Wolfson said. “Maybe he’s here, but he’s going to have to renegotiate. We don’t know. That’s a question mark.”

Vikings Face Difficult Salary Cap Situation in 2026

GettyMinnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

The Vikings are currently more than $37 million in the red with regards to the 2026 salary cap. And that’s considerably better than where the team’s finances stood back in June.

“You can roll over unused cap space, which they are probably going to need because, as of right now, no team is further over the cap in 2026 than the Minnesota Vikings,” SKOR North host Phil Mackey said on June 20. “They’re like $50 million over the cap.”

Mackey’s co-host, Judd Zulgad, offered what he saw as the team’s way out beyond rolling over space.

“Be prepared next March for a lot of deals to be … reworked, or a lot of guys to just be let go, too,” Zulgad said.

T.J. Hockenson’s Stock Has Dropped Following Injury in 2023-24, Drop in Production This Season

GettyTight end T.J. Hockenson of the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota would surely prefer to keep Hockenson after trading a second- and third-round picks to the Detroit Lions for the tight end and two fourth-rounders in 2022. But even if the Vikings hold onto him, that means the roster will take hits elsewhere.

Hockenson’s bargaining power could come into play as well, and it is far from its all-time high.

He missed two games at the end of 2023 and another seven to start last season due to a torn ligaments in his knee. He has tallied 19 catches for 153 yards and one score across five games in 2025, which puts him on track for 65 catches, 520 yards and three touchdowns if he remains healthy.

Those are significant dips from 2022 and 2023, when he averaged more than 90 catches, nearly 950 receiving yards and 5.5 touchdowns per season. The drop in production isn’t all Hockenson’s fault, however. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to that issue on October 6.

“We’re asking a lot of him right now that doesn’t necessarily coincide with him being one of the best route-running tight ends in the NFL,” O’Connell said. “There’s some sacrifice going on all across our football team to do whatever is required to win one game.”

Namely, Minnesota is asking Hockenson to pass block at a higher rate than ever before due to a slew of injuries to the offensive line. But regardless of the reasons, the Vikings front office will be able to use Hockenson’s recent injury history and subsequent drop in statistical production against him at the negotiating table, as will any other team in free agency if Hockenson refuses to restructure his deal and Minnesota ends up cutting or trading him next spring.

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