Packers Need Linebacker; Limited Options Remain in NFL Free Agency
GREEN BAY, Wis. – You snooze, you lose.
The Green Bay Packers entered NFL free agency with a big need at linebacker. The transition to new coordinator Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 base defense meant one more starting linebacker. Coupled with the release of veteran De’Vondre Campbell, the linebacker corps lacks a third starter as well as credible depth.
However, what looked like a strong group of free agents, ranging from in-their-prime stars like Patrick Queen and Jordyn Brooks to grizzled veterans such as Bobby Wagner and Lavonte David, has been picked over like the Christmas tree lot on Dec. 24.
Our rankings of the top 60 free agents at positions of need included 12 linebackers. All 12 of them are off the board. Even a bunch of secondary options have signed contracts, including Tyrel Dodson and Cody Barton.
The last unsigned player from our initial rankings, former Miami Dolphins starter Jerome Baker, was the clear-cut best player available and perhaps the most logical fit. But he signed with the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday afternoon, according to ESPN.
The last four years, he thrived with new Packers linebackers coach Anthony Campanile as his position coach.
The 27-year-old remains unsigned after taking visits to the Titans and Seahawks.
A third-round pick by Miami in 2018, he spent all six seasons with the Dolphins. From 2020 through 2022, he missed only one game. Last year, he missed the final four due to a freak knee injury sustained when he collided with a teammate.
He had 100-plus tackles in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and was on his way again in 2023 before settling for 78 tackles in 13 games. For his career, he has 22.5 sacks, five interceptions and six forced fumbles. Of 66 off-the-ball linebackers who played at least 500 defensive snaps in 2023, he ranked 42nd in missed-tackle percentage (12.0 percent; 10 misses) and 15th in passer rating (92.3).
With Baker out of the running, here are five more options, with ages as of Sept. 1.
Zach Cunningham, Philadelphia Eagles, 29: A second-round pick by the Titans in 2017, Cunningham led the NFL with 164 total tackles and 106 solo stops in 2020. He remains a consistently strong run defender. With Philadelphia in 2023, he played in 13 games with 10 starts. He finished with 85 tackles, including two for losses, and four passes defensed. In seven seasons, he has one interception and five forced fumbles.
Of 66 off-the-ball linebackers who played at least 500 defensive snaps in 2023, he ranked 47th in missed-tackle percentage (13.1 percent; 14 misses) and 22nd in passer rating (94.4).
Denzel Perryman, Houston Texans, 31: If the goal is to improve the run defense, Perryman should be a top target. And the Packers are interested. A second-round pick by the Chargers in 2015, he remains one of the best thumpers in the NFL. With the Raiders in 2021, Perryman had a Pro Bowl season with a career-high 154 tackles, then followed it up with a career-high 14 tackles for losses in 2022. With the Texans in 2023, he had 76 tackles, including six for losses, and three passes defensed. In nine seasons, he has five interceptions and four forced fumbles.
Of 66 off-the-ball linebackers who played at least 500 defensive snaps in 2023, he ranked 54th in missed-tackle percentage (14.4 percent; 13 misses) and 63rd in passer rating (121.4).
Shaq Leonard, Indianapolis Colts, 29: Leonard is the most intriguing player available because he was great not so long ago. A second-round pick in 2018, Leonard was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 and a first- or second-team All-Pro in each of his first four seasons. His 2021 was incredible with eight forced fumbles and four interceptions. However, his career fell off a cliff. He missed most of 2022 due to injury and saw his playing time curtailed in 2023 before he was released. He landed in Philadelphia, where he had 23 tackles in five games (three starts). In 14 total games, he had zero interceptions, pass breakups or forced fumbles.
Of 66 off-the-ball linebackers who played at least 500 defensive snaps in 2023, he ranked 32nd in missed-tackle percentage (9.9 percent; nine misses) and 46th in passer rating (106.0).
Oren Burks, San Francisco 49ers, 29: How bad is the available crop of linebackers staring at Gutekunst? We’re already down to a former Packers draft bust. A third-round pick by the Packers in 2018, Burks started seven games in four seasons in Green Bay but eight in two seasons for San Francisco, where he’s had his best seasons in terms of tackles and the only two pass breakups of his career.
Had he reached our 500-snap thresholds, his missed-tackle rate of 6.3 percent and passer rating allowed of 68.6 would have ranked eighth and first, respectively. While coach Matt LaFleur likes to say the door is never closed for a player to return, the truth is the door is usually closed with a dead-bolt lock.
Isaiah Simmons, New York Giants, 26: At this stage of a player’s career, draft grades still matter. Simmons was the eighth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He had 105 tackles and four forced fumbles in 2021 and 99 tackles along with career highs of four sacks and seven passes defensed in 2022. So, his career was on its way, right? Nah. Toward the end of training camp last summer, he was traded to the Giants for a seventh-round pick.
In 17 games with four starts in 2023, he had 54 tackles, one sack and three passes defensed. He played 40-plus percent of the snaps in only two games. According to PFF, he played 166 snaps in the box, 137 on the defensive line and 65 in the slot. In 2022, almost half his snaps came in the slot. In 2021, he played more traditional linebacker.
Simmons is an interesting and talented player. At 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, he’s got the size to play linebacker. Is there any fit in Green Bay?
