GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jarrett Boykin and DuJuan Harris were once promising offensive prospects for the Green Bay Packers.
Now they're no longer needed.
The Packers did not offer tenders to either Boykin or Harris before Tuesday's deadline, and both become free agents at 4 p.m. ET.
Boykin was a restricted free agent. He began last season as the Packers' No. 3 receiver but was quickly replaced by rookie Davante Adams. A year after catching 49 passes for 681 yards with three touchdowns, Boykin had as many drops (three) as he did catches (three for 23 yards) despite being active for all but three games in 2014.
The move says the Packers did not think Boykin was worth even the lowest tender, $1.542 million, which would have been payable only if he made the 53-man roster. The Packers could re-sign Boykin for a minimum salary. However, Boykin was scheduled to visit the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, according to a league source.
Harris would have cost even less as an exclusive-rights free agent. The Packers could have had their No. 3 running back for $660,000, non-guaranteed. Harris went into the 2013 offseason thinking he would be the starting running back, but the Packers drafted Eddie Lacy and then Harris missed that entire season because of a knee injury. He carried only 16 times for 64 yards last season while playing behind Lacy and James Starks and was ineffective as a kickoff returner before being benched late in the season.
The Packers offered the lowest tender to their other two restricted free agents, tackle Don Barclay and safety Sean Richardson. Both will play for $1.542 million if they make the roster. However, other teams are free to make them offers between now and April 24. The Packers would have the right to match but would not receive any compensation if they did not.
The Packers also gave an exclusive-rights deal to Chris Banjo, the second-year safety who was signed only through the end of the season when he was promoted from the practice squad last year.
Players need four accrued seasons to qualify for unrestricted free agency and three for restricted free agency.