Packers upcoming free agents put pressure on the front office as difficult decisions officially begin

The Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears, 31-27, and their 2025 season is officially over. Now, general manager Brian Gutekunst is already thinking about 2026 — and he better be, because there will be a lot of work to do in the offseason to keep building this roster.

The Packers have 10 pending unrestricted free agents, and some of them are impactful pieces who could leave Green Bay in March. There are also seven players slated to be restricted free agents, which is a rarity in the NFL world.

Unrestricted free agents

WR Romeo Doubs
LB Quay Walker
QB Malik Willis
LT Rasheed Walker
C Sean Rhyan
EDGE Kingsley Enagbare
S Zayne Anderson
LB Nick Niemann
TE John FitzPatrick
LB Kristian Welch

Quay Walker is probably the player on this list that Brian Gutekunst wants to keep the most, but the linebacker market and Walker’s underwhelming performance throughout his rookie contract put his situation at risk. It’s possible that the Packers try to keep one of Rhyan or Walker — more likely Rhyan, who’s cheaper considering his position, and would allow the Packers to release Elgton Jenkins from his $20 million contract.

Green Bay would also love to keep backup quarterback Malik Willis around, but he played great over the past two years and it’s very likely that he will receive an opportunity to at least compete for a starting job — something he won’t with the Packers.

Restricted free agents

RB Emanuel Wilson
RB Chris Brooks
EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.
T Darian Kinnard
QB Desmond Ridder
EDGE Arron Mosby
TE Josh Whyle

According to Over The Cap, these are the projected RFA tenders for 2026: first-rounder ($7.893 million), second-rounder ($5.658 million), and rights of first refusal ($3.453 million). The original round tender hasn’t been projected, but it should be something around $4.5 million.

This is how it works: If the Packers apply the tender, the player could simply sign it and play in 2026 under this one-year deal. However, another team can offer the player a long-term contract. If that’s the case, the Packers would have the option to match the offer or to allow the player to leave, receiving the corresponding compensation.

None of these players are starters, so it’s unlikely that the Packers will need to offer him a big tender. One or two may receive the rights of first refusal — one of the running backs, for example, Brenton Cox, and/or Darian Kinnard.

Nevertheless, the most likely scenario is that the Packers don’t apply a tender on many of those players, making them unrestricted free agents. By that point, Green Bay could bring them back on cheaper deals, but they would be free to sign elsewhere if wanted.

Exclusive-rights free agents

WR/CB Bo Melton
DT Jonathan Ford
CB Kamal Hadden
G Donovan Jennings
C Lecitus Smith

Those are easy ones, because the Packers can just apply the ERFA tender, which is the minimum salary — it varies from $885k to $1.075 million depending on the player’s experience in the NFL. And the player has no option but to accept it or retire from the league.