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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 17: Rasheed Walker #63 and Bo Melton #80 of the Green Bay Packers celebrate after defeating the Chicago Bears 20-19 at Soldier Field on November 17, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
One of the big things the Green Bay Packers were looking forward to this offseason was what one might colloquially call a compensatory picks galore.
Quarterback Malik Willis was expected to command $30 million a year – at least, and left tackle Rasheed Walker was predicted to garner a contract with a $20 million average annual salary.
Unfortunately for the Packers – neither of these things ended up materializing. Willis received a three year $67.5 million contract and Walker just signed a one year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth up to $10 million.
Many were particularly surprised by the lack of demand for Walker, who has been the starting left tackle for one of the better and more stable organizations in football for the best part of three years.
And according to ESPN’s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, some franchises around the league believed that teams who would otherwise be in on the former 7th round pick got “spooked” by the extraneous 4 year $82 million free-agent deal given to Dan Moore Jr. by the Tennessee Titans last March.
This was one of the more interesting markets for a player. He was clearly the best free agent option at a premium position. But a few teams wondered whether Dan Moore’s deal last year ($82M over four) spooked teams, hurting the market more than it helped. https://t.co/Vp0HZV6Ysg
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 13, 2026
NFL Teams Could Have Been ‘Spooked’ By Dan Moore Jr. Deal
“This was one of the more interesting markets for a player. He was clearly the best free agent option at a premium position.” Fowler reported on Friday. “But a few teams wondered whether Dan Moore’s deal last year ($82M over four) spooked teams, hurting the market more than it helped.”
Moore was not dreadful in 2025, but few would justify paying him over $20 million a year in hindsight, just one year into his deal. Indeed, the former Pittsburgh Steeler was named the Titans’ worst free agent signing of 2025 by Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker.
“Although one of Tennessee’s offensive line investments returned well, the other didn’t flourish. Moore was given a four-year, $82 million pact but earned only a 61.9 overall PFF grade. The former Steeler allowed eight sacks, and his 8.2% pressure rate permitted was the second-worst among tackles to play 500 or more pass-blocking snaps.” Locker wrote on January 29th.
Rasheed Walker Given One-Year ‘Prove It’ Contract
Walker was never a top-of-the-range tackle, and his time in Green Bay was not vastly dissimilar to Moore’s in Pittsburgh. Giving him a multi-year deal with substantial guaranteed money could have proved costly for a team not sold on him being their franchise left tackle long-term – something the Packers evidently also were not.
The 26-year old also struggled mightily with penalties during his tenure, facing 9 in his final year with the team, the joint-10th most amongst all offensive linemen in 2025.
$10 million may seem low for a player proven to be at the very least serviceable on the left bookend of a strong offensive line, but other teams clearly felt more comfortable going with cheaper, younger in-house options rather than forking out for a penalty-prone ex-day 3 pick.
If Walker has a great year in Carolina, where he will be the expected starter to commence the year in place of Ikem Ekwonu, who is expected to miss large chunks of the 2026 season after tearing his patellar tendon back in January in the Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams, then a big extension could be on the horizon.
Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas
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