With Green Bay’s season ending prematurely, the team is taking some time off before moving to the new season.
When the new season opens, the first thing that needs to be looked at for the Packers is how it is going to handle a few unrestricted free agents on the 2026 roster. The Packers will enter the new season over the cap by about $3, million, meaning that money is going to have to be moved around. Whether it be cutting or restructuring contracts, the 2026-27 Packers team is undoubtedly going to look different than this season’s team.
It makes sense to start with the unrestricted free agents. Being an unrestricted free agent means that a player’s contract with their current team has expired, and they have met the minimum league experience requirements to sign with any team in the NFL without any restrictions.
Let’s start on the offensive line.
Rasheed Walker came to Green Bay as a seventh-round selection in 2022 and has started 48 games protecting quarterback Jordan Love’s blindside. Walker has had an up-and-down career so far, as he has proved much better in pass protection than run blocking.
Looking at the most recent outing, Walker looked confused and had one of his worst games against the Bears in the playoffs. With tackle being a very difficult position to fill in today’s NFL, Walker is going to be attractive in free agency, meaning that Green Bay should expect to lose him this offseason.
The other big name for Green Bay on the offensive line is Sean Rhyan. After drafting Rhyan in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, this past season was the first real season where Rhyan was able to showcase his play.
Part of the reason why Rhyan was drafted was for his versatility to play nearly anywhere on the offensive line, something that we saw this season. In 2025, Rhyan logged snaps at center and both guard spots, with his best play coming at the center position after Elgton Jenkins went down with the injury.
With injuries plaguing Jenkins over the last year, bringing Rhyan back should be in the cards for Green Bay as he has proven to be a solid run blocker, while providing starting quality snaps at center and being a great depth piece at each guard spot.
“It has kind of been the theme of my career,” said Rhyan, after being asked if he has the ability to move around the offensive line and proving doubters wrong early in his career. “You have to bend, not break. So I stayed ready, so it has been OK so far.”
Green Bay has a major decision to make at the wide receiver position with Romeo Doubs.
Throughout his career, Doubs has proved to be as solid as they come, recording 2,424 yards and 21 touchdowns through four seasons. Given the injury history of Christian Watson and the inconsistent play of other Packers receivers, Doubs has probably been asked to play at a higher level than he is capable of, but with all of the inconsistency, Doubs has proved to be the go-to guy on passing downs for Love.
Unfortunately, Doubs’ time in Green Bay might be numbered as Watson signed a $13.25 million extension in September, and the Packers selected Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in the most recent draft. Doubs should be an attractive name in free agency, where he can either sign to a rebuilding team as the wide receiver one or to a contender as a wide receiver three.
The other big name on offense is Malik Willis, who has certainly revitalized his career as a backup quarterback. In replacement of Love this season, Willis proved that he is capable of being a starting quarterback in this league, highlighted by his 300-plus yard, three-touchdown performance against Baltimore.
The Packers should expect to lose Willis, as there are a number of quarterback vacancies in the NFL, including in Miami where former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was just hired as head coach. At just 26, Willis is likely going to sign a multiyear contract with a team looking to retool its offense.
While signing backup quarterbacks to a multiyear deal may seem risky, we have seen it work out well recently, with Minnesota signing Sam Darnold a few seasons ago and Indianapolis signing Daniel Jones last season. Willis has shown his affinity for being in Green Bay and head coach Matt LaFleur has praised his development, but as disappointing as is, signing Willis is unreasonable given where this Packers team is as a whole.
“There’s nothing like someone believing in you,” said Willis, on LaFleur’s praise throughout the season. “But it starts with yourself. What are you doing that prepares you if you get the opportunity to go out there and put something on tape, because that is what this league is about, being able to put good stuff on tape.”
The two biggest names on defense that are set to become unrestricted free agents are linebacker Quay Walker and edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare.
Throughout his time in Green Bay, Walker has been a reliable piece for the Packers, who always seems to be around the ball carrier. Walker’s game has somewhat improved though he still takes time to process the play coming at him, meaning he has a tendency to be late reading and reacting to plays.
While his run defense has greatly improved since his rookie season, Walker struggled in pass coverage this year. At this point in his career, it seems like Walker has reached his ceiling and the idea that he could become an all-pro linebacker has gone out the window.
Enagbare on the other hand might be a little safer. In the pass rushing room, Enagbare has often been overlooked as Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness have the bigger names, but Enagbare has been one of the better players on Green Bay’s defense over the past four seasons.
Recording 11.5 career sacks, Enagbare has been a great rotational piece, and given Parsons’ injury and Gary’s murky future with the team, it seems likely that Green Bay prioritizes bringing Enagbare back to help sure up that pass rush for the future.
