GREEN BAY — Now we know why Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst did something he seemingly never does — trade for a soon-to-be 30-year-old veteran player in linebacker Zaire Franklin. 

Gutekunst clearly knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep 2022 first-round draft pick Quay Walker — not with what the starting middle linebacker got on the open free-agent market on Monday.

Walker agreed to terms on a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders on the first day of the NFL’s free-agent negotiation period, according to Walker’s agents at AthletesFirst.

While the Packers had a contract offer on the table for Walker early in the 2025 season and were still, according to sources, trying to bring him back with an extension in recent weeks, they clearly weren’t willing to pay Walker what the Raiders gave him.

Walker’s deal averages $13.5 million per year and contains $28 million in guaranteed money, and the Packers obviously saw Franklin, a 2024 second-team All-Pro who spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Colts, as a less-expensive alternative.

Walker’s departure was set in motion a year ago, when the Packers opted to give fellow 2022 first-round draft pick Devonte Wyatt the defensive tackle fifth-year option for 2026 ($12.96 million) but decided the linebacker number was too high ($14.75 million) to give to Walker.

Walker finished the 2025 season with a career-high and team-leading 128 tackles, including eight tackles for loss. He also had five pass break-ups and 2.5 sacks — despite not playing in three games.

“He’s obviously played very well for us in his time here and been an exceptional leader. Losing him would be tough,” Gutekunst said late last month. “I think we have guys in house that can play and fill in if that’s not the case, but [we have] a lot of respect for Quay. If we’re able to get him back, I would be all for that.”

In Las Vegas, Walker will be reunited with cornerback Eric Stokes, the Packers’ 2021 first-round pick and Walker’s former college teammate at Georgia.

The Packers let Stokes walk in free agency a year ago after an up-and-down four seasons in Green Bay, but after signing a one-year, $3.5 million prove-it deal with the Raiders, Stokes resurrected his career with a strong 2025 season in which he did not have an interception but held opposing quarterbacks to a 56.7% completion percentage and 9.7 yards per completion while breaking up five passes and allowing only one touchdown (77.7 passer rating).

On Monday, Stokes agreed to a three-year, $30 million extension with the Raiders.

“Last year definitely put my name back out there and I [went] ahead and showed them I’m one of them ones at corner,” he told the team website. “And this year I’m going to have to follow it up, go ahead and double it. Go ahead and make sure everybody knows this isn’t [a] one-year fluke. I’m here.”

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