The Green Bay Packers have one of the best rosters in the league and are a contender in the NFC. However, the Packers have a difficult cap sheet, as they are paying quarterback Jordan Love and pass rusher Micah Parsons a ton of money.
This will make their upcoming free agency decisions difficult, as they have to pick and choose who to pay.
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One decision they will have to make is whether or not to re-sign linebacker Quay Walker. The Packers are being urged to re-sign him, as he has been very productive for Jeff Hafley’s defense.
Green Bay selected Walker in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Walker has played at a high level this season. He has 84 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and four passes defended.
The 26-year-old will be one of the best linebackers on the free agency market. Before the season, general manager Brian Gutekunst declined Walker’s fifth-year option of $14.75 million.
“My expectations are really, really high [for Walker],” Gutekunst said in his interview with Aaron Nagler and Corey Behnke before the season. “The only reason we didn’t do the fifth-year option is a lot of the outside linebackers are calculated into that number, so it didn’t make a lot of sense. We’re going down that road with him [to negotiate an extension], as well to see if we can make that happen as well.”
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Before the season, the Packers may have been able to get Walker for less than the cost of the fifth-year option. However, with his breakout campaign, Green Bay will likely have to play him at that number, if not more.
The highest-paid inside linebacker is Fred Warner with an average annual value of $21 million. Walker will likely slot between $15-20 million annually, which would make him one of the top seven highest-paid inside linebackers in the NFL.
Walker has played at the level to earn that deal, but in hindsight, it would have been better to pick up his fifth-year option.
Gutekunst and the Packers have two other key free agents in wide receiver Romeo Doubs and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, but Walker should be a priority for Green Bay’s defense.