Getting three years of quality starting left tackle play out of a seventh-round pick would be a feather in the cap of any general manager, and that’s exactly what Brian Gutekunst did when he drafted Rasheed Walker in 2022.

Four years after he joined the team, Walker will hit free agency. And, as much as the Green Bay Packers might like to keep him around, it seems awfully implausible. Given their cap situation, they cannot afford to bring him back.

The Packers won’t have much wiggle room at all to navigate free agency, and Walker will be a hot commodity. ESPN ranks Walker as the best offensive tackle who will become available this offseason and noted his pass-block win rate as a big reason why.

Walker’s pass block win rate of 93.8% ranked 11th among 68 qualifying offensive tackles. His technique could still improve and he lacks a strong anchor, but he has the footwork and mobility to match the speed of edge rushers. At a premium position, Walker will see heavy interest in free agency.

While it wasn’t totally smooth sailing, Walker performed admirably as a young starter replacing an All-Pro and franchise pillar in David Bakhtiari. Walker’s reliability meant Green Bay never really had to worry much about left tackle.

Spotrac estimates Walker’s market value at about $20 million annually, projecting a four-year deal in the range of $81 million. The Packers don’t have the funds to get into a bidding war with another team at that price point.

But it’s not all bad news for Green Bay; they have a potential solution for Walker’s absence in Jordan Morgan.

Morgan was Green Bay’s first-round pick in 2024. After primarily playing left tackle in college at Arizona, he bounced around the offensive line in his first two seasons as a pro, except left tackle, which Walker had locked down. But Gutekunst and Co. spent a first-round pick on Morgan two years ago to be the future left tackle for the franchise. It’s time to find out what he’s got.

Is it a bit concerning that Walker beat out Morgan last summer in training camp, and now Walker will walk (no pun intended)? Maybe, but it helps that Morgan looked much more comfortable playing right tackle than right guard this year.

Rasheed Walker hasn’t been spectacular at left tackle the last three years, but he’s been consistently above average. Bringing back would help with cohesion in an offensive line that had little of that last year, thanks to injuries to Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, Aaron Banks, and others.

Hitting on left tackle isn’t easy, and the fact that Green Bay was able to do so in the seventh round is impressive. Green Bay’s staff seems confident that Morgan can provide something like that same solid, reliable play. There’s a reason the Packers took him in the first round.

That’s no guarantee, though. And Walker’s durability will also be difficult to match. He missed just three total games in the last three years, one of which was Week 18 this season when Matt LaFleur chose to rest most of the starters.

There’s just no world where the Packers can bring Walker back, given their budget and his estimated price range. In a tight cap situation, they have to spend wisely to retain potential free agents, which means prioritizing positions without solid backup plans, as they do here with Jordan Morgan.

There were never really any games in the last three years where Packers fans thought, Oh, no, I’m worried about Rasheed Walker today. That was a mitzvah for Green Bay. Now they’ll have to hope Morgan can provide similar quality as he returns to his natural position.