GREEN BAY \u2014 While the NFL\u2019s new league year doesn\u2019t officially begin until 3 p.m. Wisconsin time on March 11, it unofficially kicks off on Monday in Indianapolis for the annual NFL scouting combine.<\/p>\n
And as it does, you can bet that Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president\/director of football operations Russ Ball will have more than a few conversations with the representatives for the team\u2019s nine unrestricted free agents, eight restricted free agents and four exclusive-rights free agents.<\/p>\n
Among those free agents are backup quarterback Malik Willis, who figures to be among the hottest free agents to hit the market, and five members of the Packers\u2019 2022 draft class, players who have a combined 204 regular-season starts and 16 playoff starts.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst, of course, said what he is supposed to say about those 21 players when he spoke with reporters earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate you can\u2019t keep all of them, but that\u2019s the way it works in the National Football League,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cCertainly, every year there\u2019s guys that you have to move on from that you don\u2019t want to just because of the choices you have to make. This year will be no different; next year will be no\u00a0 different than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a constant look at, how do you give your team the best chance to win year in and year out? Certainly, Russ and I spend a lot of time just looking at \u201926, \u201927, \u201928 and how everything [fits].<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you decide to sign a guy to an extension, how that\u2019s going to affect everything else? But those aren’t easy choices, because you can’t predict the future. But at the same time, it’s better to have a lot of those choices than not [have] many.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that reality in mind, here are the Packers\u2019 21 free agents-to-be, and what their 2025 seasons with the Packers looked like.<\/p>\n
Unrestricted free agents (9)<\/p>\n
QB Malik Willis:\u00a0After leading the Packers to victory three times in 2024 after coming over from the Tennessee Titans in a trade shortly before the season, Willis saw action in four games (one start) as Jordan Love\u2019s backup and \u00a0in four games and completed 30 of 35 passes (85.7%) for 422 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions (145.5 passer rating) while rushing for 123 yards and two TDs on 22 carries (5.6 avg.).LT Rasheed Walker:\u00a0Started 16 games and the team\u2019s playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, playing 988 regular-season snaps. Heads into free agency having started 52 games (including playoffs) in four years.C\/G Sean Rhyan:\u00a0Took over the center position after Elgton Jenkins\u2019 season-ending leg injury. Played in all 17 games with 11 starts \u2014 seven at center and four at right guard.WR Romeo Doubs: Started 15 games and finished the year with 55 receptions for a career-high 724 yards and six touchdowns. Caught 23 touchdown passes (including playoffs) in four seasons.LB Quay Walker:\u00a0Said he had an offer on the table from the Packers early in the season after not getting the fifth-year option as one of two 2022 first-round draft picks. Voted as a team captain, Walker finished the season with a career-high 128 tackles (No. 1 on the team), 58 solo tackles (tied for No. 2 on the team), 2.5 sacks (No. 4 on the team), eight tackles for a loss (No. 2 on the team), five passes defensed (tied for No. 3 on the team), and 12 quarterback pressures.DE Kingsley Enagbare:\u00a0Played 468 defensive snaps (41.8%) in the regular season, seeing action in all 17 games (three starts) while recording 38 tackles (16 solo), two sacks, six tackles for a loss, 25 QB pressures and a career-high nine quarterback hits.TE John FitzPatrick:\u00a0Caught 12 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown before a season-ending torn Achilles\u2019 tendon.LB Kristian Welch:\u00a0Wisconsin native and key veteran special-teams player who had three tackles on special teams before a season-ending ankle injury.LB Nick Niemann:\u00a0Picked up after final roster cuts at the end of training camp following his release by the Houston Texans had had an NFL-best 11 special-teams tackles before suffering a torn pectoral muscle.<\/p>\n
Restricted free agents (8)<\/p>\n
RB Emanuel Wilson:\u00a0The primary backup to Josh Jacobs the past two seasons, running for 496 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 as Jacobs battled a knee injury.RB Chris Brooks: Reliable veteran backup running back and key special-teams contributor who had 197 total yards from scrimmage as the No. 3 back.DE Brenton Cox Jr.: Missed most of the season with a groin injury but came back late in the year. Managed five tackles (two solo), a sack, a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble, three quarterback hits and six QB pressures in only four games.S Zayne Anderson: Special-teams stalwart who suffered a season-ending ankle injury but had a career-high 14 special-teams tackles (tied for the team lead) before the injury.DE Arron Mosby: Played only 17 defensive snaps but a whopping 221 on special teams, where he had eight tackles.OL Darian Kinnard: Backup offensive lineman who started four regular-season games (two at right tackle, two as a sixth offensive lineman) and even caught a Love pass for a 6-yard gain (before fumbling) in the playoff loss to the Bears.TE Josh Whyle: Signed to the practice squad and later promoted to the 53-man roster, where he caught five passes for 36 yards and a touchdown after Tucker Kraft\u2019s season-ending knee injury.DT Jonathan Ford: A 2022 seventh-round pick who rejoined the team off waivers late in the season after being cut by the Bears and played in two games, including the playoff game in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Exclusive rights free agents (4)<\/p>\n
WR\/CB Bo Melton:\u00a0Converted from wide receiver to cornerback during the offseason program and training camp but never played a defensive snap. Key special-teams contributor who had four tackles, averaged 24.6 yards on kickoff returns and caught four passes for 107 yards and a touchdown before a season-ending knee injury at Minnesota in Week 18.CB Kamal Hadden:\u00a0Played in 10 games on special teams before finally seeing extended action late in the season at cornerback before a significant ankle injury against Baltimore ended his season.G\/T Donovan Jennings:\u00a0Backup offensive lineman who was poised to start the regular-season finale at Minnesota before suffering a throat injury in practice that ended his season.C\/G Lecitus Smith:\u00a0Spent most of the season on the Packers\u2019 practice squad but started the regular-season finale against the Vikings and played three snaps at the end of the playoff loss to the Bears after Rhyan was lost to a knee injury.<\/p>\n
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