The Green Bay Packers have been stuck in the middle of the NFL since 2022.
The Packers are 38-33-1 in that time (including playoffs), have just one postseason win and have been the NFC’s No. 7 seed the last three seasons.
Many were hoping Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst would make a splashy move, or two, during free agency. While the Packers haven’t handed out megadeals like the past two offseasons — when they added Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs — they’ve made some solid moves that should help them in 2026.
To date, Green Bay’s scorecard looks like this:
Players Lost: QB Malik Willis, DE Rashan Gary, C/G Elgton Jenkins, LB Quay Walker, WR Romeo Doubs, DT Colby Wooden, DE Kingsley Enagbare, CB Nate Hobbs, S Zayne Anderson.
Acquired: DT Javon Hargrave, LB Zaire Franklin, CB Benjamin St-Juste, KR/PR Skyy Moore.
Retained: C Sean Rhyan, LB Kristian Welch, LB Nick Niemann, RB Chris Brooks, OL Darian Kinnard, TE Josh Whyle, G Donovan Jennings, DE Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford.
Here’s the good, bad and ugly from the Packers’ start to free agency.
The good
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Green Bay’s second biggest need — after cornerback — was at defensive tackle. Gutekunst made a very un-Gutekunst-like move by signing 33year-old, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a two-year, $23 million deal on Wednesday.
Hargrave, a 10-year veteran, is a two-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2023) with 49 career sacks. Hargrave had 3.5 sacks and 31 pressures for Minnesota last season, and according to Pro Football Focus, ranked 17th in pass-rush win rate (12.4%) among defensive linemen with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps.
From 2023-25 — when Hargrave was in San Francisco and Minnesota — he ranked sixth among defensive linemen in pressure rate (12.2%) and second in quick pressure rate (5.4%). Since the start of free agency in 2025, Green Bay had lost defensive tackles T.J. Slaton (signed with Cincinnati), Kenny Clark (trade) and Colby Wooden (trade). The Packers still need depth up front, but a starting tackle duo of Devonte Wyatt and Hargrave should be formidable.
WATER TO WINE: On March 6, Packers defensive end Rashan Gary posted on his Instagram account that he had been released. That turned out to be premature, and Gary later claimed his account had been hacked.
Three days later, Green Bay traded Gary to Dallas for a 2027 fourth round draft pick. In the process, the Packers saved roughly $11 million in salary cap space this season.
The fact Gutekunst got anything for Gary was a huge bonus.
Gary began the 2025 campaign with 7.5 sacks in his first seven games, in part because Green Bay defensive end Micah Parsons — who was acquired from Dallas just before the start of the season — attracted countless double- and triple teams. The 28-year-old Gary didn’t have a single sack, though, in his final 11 games.
“All I gotta do is go out there, play my game and everything’s going to come,” Gary said late last season.
It never did come, though, which is why the Packers decided it was time for Gary to leave. Getting a draft pick while clearing cap room was like hitting the daily double.
FLY THE FRIENDLY SKYY: Green Bay ranked last in the NFL in punt return average in 2025 (5.6 yards) and tied for 22nd in kickoff return average (25.2). The Packers signed Skyy Moore to a one-year deal on Tuesday and hope the former second- round draft pick can help solve their return issues.
The 25-year-old Moore, who played for San Francisco last season, averaged 27.5 yards per kick return last year, which ranked sixth in the NFL. Moore also ranked seventh in the league on punt returns (11.6).
Moore should be a huge upgrade from players like Romeo Doubs on punts and Savion Williams on kickoffs that Green Bay tried in 2025.
SOLID SWAP: When the Packers decided not to pick up linebacker Quay Walker’s fifth-year option last offseason, it became clear his days in Green Bay were numbered. That’s exactly what happened when Walker signed a three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Green Bay covered its tail, though, by trading defensive tackle Colby Wooden to Indianapolis for linebacker Zaire Franklin two days before Walker and the Raiders agreed to terms.
Franklin led the NFL with 173 tackles in 2024, made his first Pro Bowl that year, and was named a second- team All-Pro. Franklin didn’t play as well in 2025, but brings a nastiness with him and should be a good fit in the 4-2-5 defense new coordinator Jonathan Gannon will employ.
Franklin, who shines against the run but struggles in coverage, led the Colts with 1,112 snaps last year. Gannon may choose to have Franklin play strictly on early downs, but that remains to be seen.
THINGS CHANGE QUICKLY: When they say the NFL is a “fluid” league, Sean Rhyan is the poster child.
The Green Bay Packers’ offensive lineman was benched midway through the 2025 season and said, “If you just look at what we’ve got on the line, I probably won’t be back here.”
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By the end of the year, though, Rhyan was the Packers’ starting center and a key piece of the offensive line.
On March 8, Green Bay and Rhyan agreed to a three-year, $33 million extension that contained an $11 million signing bonus. Rhyan, who would have become a free agent on Wednesday, could earn up to $39 million with his new deal.
Rhyan took over as Green Bay’s center the final two months of the year after Elgton Jenkins suffered a season-ending fractured fibula. Rhyan was an upgrade from Jenkins, allowing just one sack in the final nine games.
Rhyan, a third-round draft pick in 2022, is unlikely to ever achieve All-Pro status. But he’s bright (29 Wonderlic score), extremely strong in the run game and has the trust of quarterback Jordan Love.
“He’s really physical,” one scout recently told me. “He’s not great in pass pro, but he gives them some nastiness in the run game that a lot of their guys don’t. For just getting thrown in at center, I thought he was all right.”
OPTIONS GALORE: Wideout Romeo Doubs led the Packers in receiving yards (724) and tied for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns (six) last season. Doubs, a steady possession receiver, parlayed that into a four-year, $68 million deal with New England.
Green Bay was content letting Doubs leave for multiple reasons.
First, the Packers have terrific depth at the wide receiver position with Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed leading the group and star tight end Tucker Kraft expected back early in the year from a torn ACL. Second, Doubs suffered a pair of concussions in 2024 and was also placed on the reserve/suspended list for one game that season after going AWOL. Third, Green Bay should receive a solid compensatory pick for Doubs in the 2027 draft.
ODDS AND ENDS: Running back Chris Brooks has been a solid third down back and was retained for two years, $4.85 million. … Green Bay’s special teams have been a problem for two decades now. Gutekunst gave new coordinator Cam Achord a pair of steady veterans, though, by resigning linebackers Kristian Welch and Nick Niemann. … Offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, who was scheduled to become a restricted free agent, re-signed a one-year, $3.85 million deal. Kinnard, who started four games last season at right tackle, should provide much-needed depth to Green Bay’s mediocre offensive line.
The bad
NOTHING FOR SOMETHING: While Gutekunst was able to finagle a draft pick from Dallas for Gary, he wasn’t as successful when it came to Elgton Jenkins.
Jenkins, a two-time Pro Bowl guard (2020, 2022), was moved to center last year and struggled. He then suffered a fractured ankle against Philadelphia on Nov. 10 and finished the season on the injured reserve list.
Jenkins carried a $24.3 million salary cap hit with Green Bay in 2026, money the Packers were never going to pay. So Gutekunst tried trading Jenkins before the new league year began.
When Gutekunst couldn’t find a partner, the Packers released Jenkins. He then signed a two-year, $24 million deal with Cleveland.
The good news for Green Bay was that it cleared $19.5 million in salary cap space by releasing Jenkins.
WHO’S NO. 2?: Malik Willis was the NFL’s top backup the last two seasons, and cashed in with a three-year, $67.5 million deal with Miami. Now, the pressure is on Gutekunst to find a serviceable backup quarterback for Jordan Love, who’s missed four starts and was knocked out of three other games the last two seasons.
Desmond Ridder, who made 17 starts with Atlanta in 2022-23, is the current frontrunner to be Love’s backup. Kyle McCord, a sixth-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 2025, is also on the roster.
Gutekunst has between now and September to determine if either of those players can handle the job or if he needs more help. Either way, the Packers’ No. 2 quarterback in 2026 is unlikely to compare to Willis.
ODDS AND ENDS: Safety Zayne Anderson was one of Green Bay’s best special teams players — and a solid fill-in from scrimmage — the last three seasons. Anderson’s now part of the large Green Bay contingent that’s headed to Miami, after signing with the Dolphins. … Green Bay left tackle Rasheed Walker was expected to sign a hefty contract early in free agency. That would have meant a high-end compensatory draft pick for the Packers in 2027. Walker remains unsigned, though, and as his value falls, so does the future draft pick.
The ugly
WORK TO BE DONE: The Packers signed cornerback Benjamin St-Juste and released cornerback Nate Hobbs. Gutekunst’s work to fix his subpar cornerback room is far from complete, though.
Green Bay’s 2025 cornerback group was led by the underwhelming duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. And it’s unlikely St-Juste — a part-time player with the Los Angeles Chargers last season — will provide a dramatic upgrade.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound St-Juste was a third-round pick of Washington in 2021 and spent four years with the Commanders. Washington didn’t resign St-Juste, then he spent the 2025 campaign with Los Angeles.
St-Juste played 356 total snaps with the Chargers last season, with a high of 40 snaps in the final regular-season game of the year. St-Juste had a solid season as opposing quarterbacks completed just 19 of 40 passes for 205 yards when throwing at St-Juste and had a passer rating of 60.9. St-Juste’s best season in Washington came in 2023 when he started 16 games, had 17 passes defensed and forced two fumbles.
St-Juste will undoubtedly have the chance to unseat Valentine. But the fact he hasn’t been able to establish himself as a permanent starter after five seasons means Gutekunst must add more competition to the cornerback room.
The clock is ticking.