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The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0have three of their five starting offensive linemen slated to be unrestricted free agents in 2026: Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom on the outside and offensive guard Sean Rhyan. It will be hard for the team to keep all three, which means General Manager Brian Gutekunst will soon have to make some tough calls<\/p>\n
Green Bay has two big contracts on the offensive line\u2014center Elgton Jenkins and guard Aaron Banks. According to Over the Cap, Green Bay has $35.5M in available\u00a0cap space, which could cover one more big deal upfront. Still, it is hard to imagine them handing out four huge contracts on the line without risking the team\u2019s future roster stability.<\/p>\n
The Packers could get a deal done with Tom, Walker, or Rhyan this offseason. In a piece outlining five predictions for what could happen before the 2025 season,\u00a0AtoZSports\u2019 Wendell Ferreira\u00a0believes the team will lock up a long-term deal with one of their starting tackles.<\/p>\n
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“This is one of the big tasks of the offseason for the Packers, and it doesn’t make much sense for the Packers to allow Tom to keep playing without a new deal in place,” Wendell wrote. “Considering how well he played in 2024, being one of the top right tackles in football, Tom will only get more and more expensive.”<\/p>\n
Wendell also noted that negotiations can be a drawn-out process, so a deal may not come together at first glance. Still, Brian Gutekunst has\u00a0said\u00a0that both the Packers and Zach Tom\u2019s camp have had positive discussions about a possible extension.<\/p>\n
“Negotiations take time, and deadlines spur action as Andrew Brandt would say,” Wendell wrote. “With the regular season getting closer, chances are that the Packers will finally pull the trigger.”<\/p>\n
The earlier Green Bay\u00a0gets a deal done with\u00a0Tom, the better. They\u2019re going to pay him regardless, so it makes sense to get it done before the salary cap rises and his value increases even more. There is no realistic scenario in which the Packers let him leave, and securing him on a long-term contract before the season starts is just the correct move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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