The Green Bay Packers might take a long look at the current contracts of Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Clay Matthews this offseason, but the team still faces a complicated decision on the future of starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga.

While one of the game’s best right tackles when healthy, Bulaga is facing another long recovery after tearing his ACL last November and he isn’t guaranteed to be healthy to start the 2018 season. The ligament damage in his knee is only the latest in a long history of major lower-body injuries, which includes a fractured hip in 2012 and torn ACL on his other knee in 2013. He also battled through a high ankle sprain to start 2017.

It’s a frightening list of past problems for an offensive tackle who makes his money by being a top pass protector.

Bulaga turns 29 in March. He has two years left on the deal he signed after the 2014 season. His cap numbers over the next two seasons aren’t overly restricting; he’ll count $7.9 million on the cap in 2018, and $8.4 million in 2019. The Packers would save roughly $4.7 million on next year’s cap if they released him now.

Rob Demovsky of ESPN recently predicted the Packers will release Bulaga.

It wouldn’t be surprising if new general manager Brian Gutekunst looked at Bulaga’s history of major injury and decided it’s time to part ways. While Bulaga remained relatively healthy from 2015-17, he has to be considered an injury risk going into 2018 – and the Packers could use the savings on next year’s cap to find a replacement, such as free agent Justin Pugh.

But it’d be equally unsurprising if Gutekunst decided to keep Bulaga for another year.

Despite missing 11 games, Bulaga still graded out as NFL’s fourth-best right tackle in Bleacher Report’s NFL1000 series for 2017. He’s a dominant player when on the field, and the Packers wouldn’t get any better in 2018 by creating another hole on the roster. Opening up just under $5 million in cap savings probably isn’t worth parting ways with one of the team’s best players.

Also, the Packers have obvious concerns at right tackle that could affect the way the team handles Bulaga. Jason Spriggs is recovering from a dislocated kneecap, and Kyle Murphy missed the final three months of the year after needing foot surgery. Spriggs was a disappointment from start to finish in 2017, and Murphy can’t be considered a sure-fire starting option after playing in only three games last season.

The prediction here is that the Packers will hold onto Bulaga for one more year. Spriggs and Murphy should be healthy to start 2018, giving the Packers a few fallback options in case Bulaga can’t get his surgically-repaired knee ready to play by September. Gutekunst can – and should – draft an offensive tackle to add another insurance policy, both for next year and beyond.

Usually, it’s better to cut a player one year too early than too late. That might not be the case here. The Packers can afford to keep Bulaga around for another year. They can’t afford to let go of a Pro Bowl caliber player and create another hole on the roster. Bulaga’s future in Green Bay is a complicated decision – full of pros and cons – but it’s clear which side of the ledger should win the day.