{"id":696713,"date":"2026-01-22T16:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/696713\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T16:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:39:15","slug":"packers-81-million-free-agent-predicted-to-depart-from-green-bay-for-chargers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/696713\/","title":{"rendered":"Packers $81 million free agent predicted to depart from Green Bay for Chargers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Packers $81 million free agent predicted to depart from Green Bay for Chargers<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> need to make significant improvements along their offensive line in 2026 and one Green Bay Packers<\/a> free agent could help.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Chargers sported arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL last season, with the unit ranking 31st in run-block win rate and 32nd in pass-block win rate.<\/p>\n

Of course, a lot of that had to do with injuries, as the Chargers lost both of their starting tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, but there’s no doubt upgrades on the interior are needed.<\/p>\n

One analyst, Pro Football and Sports Network’s Ryan Guthrie<\/a>, predicts the Chargers will sign Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker in free agency. Spotrac projects Walker will cost $81 million over four seasons.<\/p>\n

“Rasheed Walker\u00a0has played over 900 snaps at left tackle in three straight seasons and isn\u2019t a liability in pass protection,” he wrote. “That reliability alone makes him one of the most valuable linemen on the market. Jim Harbaugh loves trench play, and after watching\u00a0Justin Herbert\u00a0get battered, this move feels inevitable.”<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

On the surface, signing a tackle doesn’t make sense for the Chargers considering they have both Alt and Slater under contract for 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n

However, according to The Athletic’s Mike Silver<\/a>, there is a belief inside the building that Los Angeles could shift Slater over to center in 2026, which would open up a spot for Walker.<\/p>\n

“The Chargers responded by moving second-year tackle Joe Alt, the fifth pick of the 2024 draft, to the left side as Herbert’s blindside protector, and they seem poised to keep thriving up front,” he wrote. “In theory, it could be a permanent switch: Some Chargers decision-makers believe there’s a scenario in which Slater, 26, could be shifted to center, with a viable chance to excel at a new position.”<\/p>\n

There a good chance the Packers will let Walker leave in free agency, as the team has younger and cheaper options like Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton and might not be keen on paying the veteran the big money he’s going to get.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Walker has been a good but not great left tackle in Green Bay.<\/p>\n

The veteran struggles in run-blocking but is a solid pass-protector, as evidenced by his 70 or higher pass-blocking grades and sub-60 marks in run-blocking from Pro Football Focus<\/a> in each season.<\/p>\n

The No. 1 priority for the Chargers this offseason is finding linemen who can keep Justin Herbert upright when he drops back to pass and Walker checks that box.<\/p>\n

A contract that pays him over $20 million annually seems too steep, but it’s most certainly not crazy to think he’ll get it.<\/p>\n

That’s because starting-caliber offensive linemen like Walker don’t grow on trees and can be hard to come by, so they tend to do very well on the open market, and that’s especially true with a team like the Chargers that is desperate for more help.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

We also know the Tennessee Titans<\/a> paid Dan Moore even more money ($82 million total value<\/a>) and he was coming off a season in which he led the NFL in sacks allowed.<\/p>\n

If Moore can get paid big bucks, there is no question Walker, who is better than Moore, can also.<\/p>\n

More NFL news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Packers $81 million free agent predicted to depart from Green Bay for Chargers originally appeared on The Sporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[651,241,5852,7,41,345,5661,598,1159,1014,262,2444,2443,6,1526,3993,9536,394],"class_list":["post-696713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-chargers","tag-anthony-belton","tag-chargers","tag-dan-moore","tag-football","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-joe-alt","tag-jordan-morgan","tag-justin-herbert","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleschargers","tag-nfl","tag-rashawn-slater","tag-rasheed-walker","tag-sports-network","tag-tennessee-titans"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}