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To date, Green Bay\u2019s scorecard looks like this:<\/p>\n
Players Lost:\u00a0QB Malik Willis, DE Rashan Gary, C\/G Elgton Jenkins, LB Quay Walker, WR Romeo Doubs, DT Colby Wooden, DE Kingsley Enagbare, CB Nate Hobbs, S Zayne Anderson.<\/p>\n
Acquired:\u00a0DT Javon Hargrave, LB Zaire Franklin, CB Benjamin St-Juste, KR\/PR Skyy Moore.<\/p>\n
Retained:\u00a0C Sean Rhyan, LB Kristian Welch, LB Nick Niemann, RB Chris Brooks, OL Darian Kinnard, TE Josh Whyle, G Donovan Jennings, DE Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the good, bad and ugly from the Packers\u2019 start to free agency.<\/p>\n
The good<\/p>\n
MAN IN THE MIDDLE:\u00a0Green Bay\u2019s second biggest need \u2014 after cornerback \u2014 was at defensive tackle. Gutekunst made a very un-Gutekunst-like move by signing 33year-old, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a two-year, $23 million deal on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Hargrave, a 10-year veteran, is a two-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2023) with 49 career sacks. Hargrave had 3.5 sacks and 31 pressures for Minnesota last season, and according to Pro Football Focus, ranked 17th in pass-rush win rate (12.4%) among defensive linemen with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps.<\/p>\n
From 2023-25 \u2014 when Hargrave was in San Francisco and Minnesota \u2014 he ranked sixth among defensive linemen in pressure rate (12.2%) and second in quick pressure rate (5.4%). Since the start of free agency in 2025, Green Bay had lost defensive tackles T.J. Slaton (signed with Cincinnati), Kenny Clark (trade) and Colby Wooden (trade). The Packers still need depth up front, but a starting tackle duo of Devonte Wyatt and Hargrave should be formidable.<\/p>\n
WATER TO WINE:\u00a0On March 6, Packers defensive end Rashan Gary posted on his Instagram account that he had been released. That turned out to be premature, and Gary later claimed his account had been hacked.<\/p>\n
Three days later, Green Bay traded Gary to Dallas for a 2027 fourth round draft pick. In the process, the Packers saved roughly $11 million in salary cap space this season.<\/p>\n
The fact Gutekunst got anything for Gary was a huge bonus.<\/p>\n
Gary began the 2025 campaign with 7.5 sacks in his first seven games, in part because Green Bay defensive end Micah Parsons \u2014 who was acquired from Dallas just before the start of the season \u2014 attracted countless double- and triple teams. The 28-year-old Gary didn\u2019t have a single sack, though, in his final 11 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I gotta do is go out there, play my game and everything\u2019s going to come,\u201d Gary said late last season.<\/p>\n
It never did come, though, which is why the Packers decided it was time for Gary to leave. Getting a draft pick while clearing cap room was like hitting the daily double.<\/p>\n
FLY THE FRIENDLY SKYY:\u00a0Green Bay ranked last in the NFL in punt return average in 2025 (5.6 yards) and tied for 22nd in kickoff return average (25.2). The Packers signed Skyy Moore to a one-year deal on Tuesday and hope the former second- round draft pick can help solve their return issues.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old Moore, who played for San Francisco last season, averaged 27.5 yards per kick return last year, which ranked sixth in the NFL. Moore also ranked seventh in the league on punt returns (11.6).<\/p>\n
Moore should be a huge upgrade from players like Romeo Doubs on punts and Savion Williams on kickoffs that Green Bay tried in 2025.<\/p>\n
SOLID SWAP:\u00a0When the Packers decided not to pick up linebacker Quay Walker\u2019s fifth-year option last offseason, it became clear his days in Green Bay were numbered. That\u2019s exactly what happened when Walker signed a three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n
Green Bay covered its tail, though, by trading defensive tackle Colby Wooden to Indianapolis for linebacker Zaire Franklin two days before Walker and the Raiders agreed to terms.<\/p>\n
Franklin led the NFL with 173 tackles in 2024, made his first Pro Bowl that year, and was named a second- team All-Pro. Franklin didn\u2019t play as well in 2025, but brings a nastiness with him and should be a good fit in the 4-2-5 defense new coordinator Jonathan Gannon will employ.<\/p>\n
Franklin, who shines against the run but struggles in coverage, led the Colts with 1,112 snaps last year. Gannon may choose to have Franklin play strictly on early downs, but that remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
THINGS CHANGE QUICKLY:\u00a0When they say the NFL is a \u201cfluid\u201d league, Sean Rhyan is the poster child.<\/p>\n
The Green Bay Packers\u2019 offensive lineman was benched midway through the 2025 season and said, \u201cIf you just look at what we\u2019ve got on the line, I probably won\u2019t be back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
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