The Green Bay Packers are facing crucial decisions as several starters and key backups, including players from their 2022 draft class, are set to become unrestricted free agents on March 9. The article highlights the importance of players like Rasheed Walker and the team's preparations, including the drafting of Jordan Morgan.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have three starters on offense, one starter on defense and some key backups set to become free agents beginning on March 9.The Packers have nine unrestricted free agents – players who have four-plus accrued seasons in the NFL.
The list includes a handful of players from their excellent 2022 draft class. These players can re-sign with the Packers or agree to a contract with another team when free agency unofficially opens for business on March 9.Nobody believes Walker is an elite left tackle, but the 2022 seventh-round pick was a solid, durable, consistent starter at a critical position after David Bakhtiari was unable to play again after Week 1 of the 2022 season. Of 68 offensive tackles who played at least 500 snaps in 2025, he finished 37th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-blocking snap. He was charged with five sacks and 11 penalties. Pass-protecting left tackles are worth their weight in gold. He is expected to sign a contract worth more than $20 million per season. The Packers drafted Jordan Morgan in the first round in 2024 to be ready. “I think he was ready last training camp,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Morgan becoming a starter. “I thought he had a really good training camp. I thought he was ready to go, and I think if we were to need him at any point in the season to play left tackle, we were very confident he could go there and play winning football. Certainly, if Rasheed’s not here, even if Rasheed is here, I think he’d have a pretty good crack at that.”The 2022 first-round pick and 2025 team captain played in 14 games but set a career high with 128 tackles. He tackled better than ever with nine misses and a missed-tackle rate of 7.1 percent. He is one of only six NFL defenders with four consecutive seasons of 100-plus tackles and five-plus tackles for losses. For all his size, length and athletic ability, he’s never been anywhere close to a stopper in coverage; PFF charged him with five touchdowns in 2025. During his final three seasons, he had one interception and zero forced fumbles. “We have” talked to him about a contract, Gutekunst said at the Combine. “This week’s an important week for all that stuff to gather the information to see if that will be possible. But he’s obviously played very well for us in his time here and been an exceptional leader, and losing him would be tough. I think we have guys in house that can play and fill in if that’s not the case, but a lot of respect for Quay and if we’re able to get him back, I would be all for that.”A third-round pick in 2022, Rhyan played one snap on special teams as a rookie, rotated in at guard with Jon Runyan in 2023 and started all 17 games in 2024. In 2025, he started 11 of 17 games, finally getting his chance to be an every-down player when thrown into the fire at center to replace Elgton Jenkins. Rhyan started the final seven games of the regular season. Including the game in which he replaced Jenkins, 32 players played at least 280 snaps at center. From that group, he ranked 29 in the PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency with zero sacks and 15 pressures. He was flagged only once.Doubs, a fourth-round pick in 2022, will face a fascinating free agency. In four seasons, he never hit 60 receptions or 725 yards. In 59 regular-season games, he never hit 100 yards and had just one catch of longer than 40 yards. Doubs is a tremendous route-runner but only occasionally was a featured player on third down. Doubs has tremendous hands but never had a less-than-average drop percentage. He also was suspended for a game and had a history of concussions. Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs scores a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the playoffs. | David Banks-Imagn Images And yet, there was the 2023 playoff game at Dallas. And the 2025 playoff game at Chicago. He was arguably the best player on the field against Chicago. Will some team see untapped potential if it gives him 100 targets rather than his four-year average of 77.5? “Romeo’s done a fantastic job for us over his four years with the Green Bay Packers – very consistent, his work ethic is second to none,” Gutekunst said. “Again, we’d love to have him back. And if we do, he’ll be a big part of our football team. And if we don’t, I’m sure he’ll be very successful wherever he goes.”In the first 11 games of the season, Enagbare played 16 snaps or less four times. Down the stretch, he was the team’s primary defensive end from a playing-time perspective. After Micah Parsons’ injury, he played 43 at Chicago, 60 at Baltimore and 53 in the playoffs at Chicago. The 2022 fifth-round matched his career low with two sacks but set career highs with nine quarterback hits and 39 tackles. He had six tackles for losses because of his excellent awareness. He played in all 68 games in four seasons.A sixth-round pick by Atlanta in 2022, FitzPatrick joined the Packers in 2024 and was a valuable role player because of his physical blocking. He caught 12 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown in 15 games before he sustained a torn Achilles in Week 16 at Chicago.Willis was a third-round pick by the Titans in 2022 who the Packers acquired for a seventh-round pick at the end of camp in 2024. Willis played in 11 games with three starts in two seasons in Tennessee. He threw zero touchdown passes, three interceptions and had a 49.4 passer rating. Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Willis also played in 11 games with three starts in Green Bay. He threw six touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 134.6 passer rating. Willis completed 30-of-35 passes in 2025. If not for two drops, he would have thrown as many touchdowns as incompletions.of 35-plus passes and at least one start in 2024 and 2025, Willis ranked first and second in passer rating.The Wisconsin native, who has made his mark throughout his career on special teams, made three tackles in eight games before going on injured reserve.Welch didn’t make the opening roster in 2025 because the team opted to sign Niemann after he was released by the Texans. In the first seven games, Niemann had 11 tackles on special teams.A restricted free agent is a player with three years of NFL experience. The first-round tender is $8.046 million, the second-round tender is $5.767 million and the right-of-first-refusal tender is $3.52 million. If the Packers tender a player, he would play the upcoming season at whatever amount chosen, but other teams would have a chance to sign him to the offer sheet. The Packers can match that offer or let him go. The first- or second-round tender would bring back the corresponding draft pick; the right-of-first-refusal tender merely gives a team the opportunity to match the offer but there is no draft compensation.After starting two games and intercepting one pass in 2024, Anderson played 14 games with zero starts in 2025, when he played just 22 snaps on defense. He tied Chris Brooks with a team-high 14 tackles on special teams. The Packers did not tender him, so he will be an unrestricted free agent.Green Bay Packers running back Chris Brooks is shoved out of bounds during the Week 18 game at the Vikings. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Just like in 2024, Brooks was the No. 3 back behind Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson. He went from 36 carries for 183 yards to 27 carries for 106 yards . His biggest contributions came in pass protection, where he received extensive playing time against blitz-happy defenses, and on special teams, where he played the third-most snaps and tied for the team high with 14 tackles.Cox was the big winner from the 2024 trade of Preston Smith, going from not playing at all to recording four sacks during the second half of the season. In 2025, he sustained a groin injury in Week 1, was placed on injured reserve and had one sack in four games.Ford was a seventh-round draft pick by the Packers in 2022 but spent two-plus seasons on their practice squad and did not get any game action until he was signed by the Bears late in 2024. When the Bears released him late this past season, the Packers – desperate for big-guy help – signed the 340-pounder. He played 30 snaps in Week 18 and 18 in the playoffs.A fifth-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022, Kinnard played in one game as a rookie, zero games in 2023 and two games for the Eagles in 2024. The Packers acquired him for a sixth-round pick at the end of camp and got an invaluable contributor. He played in 17 games with four starts. He played 213 snaps at right tackle, six snaps at left tackle and 66 snaps at tight end. He allowed one sack and the run game was 0.09 yards per carry better when he was on the field.New York Giants returner Deonte Banks is tackled by Green Bay Packers defensive end Arron Mosby on a kickoff. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images Mosby didn’t make the opening roster but was a key player. In 12 games, he played 17 snaps on defense but 221 on special teams, where he was fast and physical en route to collecting eight tackles.Whyle was a fifth-round pick by the Titans in 2023, the same draft that produced Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. He caught 28 passes for 248 yards for the Titans last year but was cut at the end of training camp this past season. The Packers signed him to the practice squad, and he became a key player on offense following Kraft’s injury. He caught 5-of-6 targets for 36 yards and one touchdown while playing 20-plus snaps in his final six games when healthy.Wilson rushed for 502 yards in 2024 and would have hit that total again in 2025 had he not beenon a negative-yardage run in Week 18. So, he settled for 496 yards. Similar to Josh Jacobs, Wilson went from 4.9 yards per carry in 2024 to 4.0 in 2025. About 77 percent of his yards came after contact. The Packers did not tender him, so he will be an unrestricted free agent.An exclusive-rights free agent isn’t really a free agent at all. If the Packers want to retain the player, they can. The Packers have four: receiver/defensive back Bo Melton, C/G Lecitus Smith, G Donovan Jennings and cornerback Kamal Hadden.Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.Dolphins Don’t Scramble From Obvious Link to Packers QB Malik WillisNFL Divisional Round Opening Odds for Every Game
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