Eleven Packers Stalwarts Who Might Have Played Last Snaps With Team

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers roster that walks onto the field for the start of OTAs in May is going to look a lot different than the group that competed in 2025.

Because of free agency, bloated salaries and salary-cap challenges, here are 11 players who had key roles on the team in 2025 who might not return in 2026. They are listed in order of their 2025 salary-cap charge (via Spotrac).

DE Rashan Gary ($25.77 million)

When Gary had two sacks against Pittsburgh, a player who had never had a 10-sack season was on pace for 18. He didn’t have another sack the rest of the season. Heck, he didn’t have another tackle for loss the rest of the season. So, he finished with 7.5 sacks, tied for 29th in the league.

When the Packers needed him to step forward following Micah Parsons’ torn ACL, Gary went in retreat. In the wild-card loss to Chicago, Gary played 44 snaps – less than Kingsley Enagbare and Lukas Van Ness. He did have six pressures, though.

When Parsons was defending the culture of the team led by Matt LaFleur on Monday, you wonder if these sentences were directed at Gary, one of the team captains: “If we got to play 80 snaps, we play 80 f***ing snaps. … When your effort matches what you’re trying to say in the locker room, then it carries over more, man.”

After the Packers traded away two first-round picks to land Parsons, it seemed like a Gary trade this offseason could help recoup significant draft capital. After not recording a sack during the final 10 games, he’ll be impossible to trade and practically impossible to keep without a major change in his contract.

Gary’s cap charge for 2026 rises to just a bit more than $28.0 million, seventh-highest among edge rushers. By removing his $18.0 million base salary from the ledger, the Packers could save about $10.98 million.

C Elgton Jenkins ($17.60 million)

Jenkins’ move to center didn’t work out, perhaps due in part to his decision to skip the offseason practices. He suffered a broken fibula against the Eagles, ending his season after nine games and about 51 percent of the snaps.

Jenkins in 2026 will have the highest cap number among NFL centers at $24.33 million. The Packers could save about $19.53 million against the cap by not shelling out his $18.5 million in base salary.

The Packers’ line depth is precarious, to state the obvious, but Jenkins turned 30 the day after Christmas. His age probably precludes a cap-saving contract extension.

LB Aaron Banks ($9.03 million)

Green Bay Packers guard Aaron Banks (65) walks off the field after their wild-card playoff game against the Bears. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After signing a four-year, $77 million contract in free agency, Banks’ second-year cap charge of $24.79 million ranks third among guards for 2026. He is due a $9.5 million roster bonus on the third day of the league year.

Banks was fine during his debut season but wasn’t even close to being worth his $27 million signing bonus. The Packers could save $4.54 million against the cap but would have to eat $20.25 million in dead money.

CB Nate Hobbs ($5.99 million)

The Packers signed Hobbs to a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency, viewing him as an ascending player and every-down corner. Instead, injuries limited him to 11 games and about 32 percent playing time. He broke up two passes, the last of which resulted in a torn MCL against Baltimore.

Hobbs is due a $6.25 million roster bonus on the third time of the year, but the salary-cap savings is negligible. Releasing him would be about performance, not finances.

LB Quay Walker ($4.41 million)

A first-round pick in 2022, Walker will enter free agency with a resume of more than 100 tackles in each of his four seasons. In 2025, he missed three games due to injury but still had a career-high and team-leading 128 tackles. He added 2.5 sacks, eight tackles for losses and five passes defensed.

Walker forced three fumbles as a rookie but none during his final three seasons. In his final two seasons, he had zero interceptions, forced fumbles or fumble recoveries.

The questions the Packers will have to answer: Is Walker going to be worth the free-agent contract? And is Ty’Ron Hopper ready to start?

WR Romeo Doubs ($3.58 million)

Doubs will enter free agency without a single 100-yard game in four regular seasons. He did, however, catch six passes for 151 yards in the wild-card win at Dallas and eight passes for 124 yards in the wild-card loss at Chicago on Saturday. Those outputs rank third and 18th in Packers playoff history.

The Packers didn’t draft Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third round just so they could re-sign Christian Watson (which they did) and Doubs.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) pulls down a long reception in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

K Brandon McManus ($3.49 million)

After an injury-induced slump, Brandon McManus hit his stride. After being inactive against the Giants, he returned to elite form by making 13-of-13 field goals and 16-of-16 extra points. Then, for a second consecutive year, his regular-season excellence was incinerated in the playoffs. He missed two field goals and an extra point against Chicago after missing a field goal in last year’s playoffs.

McManus, who returned to Green Bay on a three-year, $15.3 million contract signed last offseason, is due a $1 million roster bonus on the third day of the league year. The team could save $1.95 million by releasing him.

The Packers kept Lucas Havrisik on the practice squad and signed him to a futures contract.

DE Kingsley Enagbare ($3.48 million)

Enagbare will head to free agency after recording two sacks, six tackles for losses and nine quarterback hits in 2025. You could count on him to make one disruptive play every week, including his tackle for loss against Chicago.

With Parsons likely to miss the start of the season, the Packers probably can’t part ways with both Gary and Enagbare.

LT Rasheed Walker ($3.44 million)

Last offseason, former Steelers left tackle Dan Moore signed a four-year, $82 million contract with the Titans. Walker, a seventh-round pick in 2022, is a better player than Moore.

While Walker wasn’t great, he usually wasn’t a problem, either. After getting thrown into the fire in replacing David Bakhtiari in 2023, PFF charged Walker with three sacks and 37 pressures allowed in 2024 and five sacks and 40 pressures allowed in 2025.

It’s time to hand the baton to 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan and hope Walker lands a Moore-style contract.

C Sean Rhyan ($1.62 million)

Rhyan was a third-round pick in 2022, the first lineman picked in a draft class that included Zach Tom in the fourth round and Walker in the seventh.

The Packers refused to really commit to him, though they finally had to by necessity during the second half of this season, when Jenkins suffered a season-ending injury and Rhyan shifted to center. In nine games at the new position, he allowed zero sacks (but 17 pressures) and was flagged once.

QB Malik Willis ($1.42 million)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There might be no amount of money on earth that would entice Willis to re-sign in free agency. Having resurrected his career, Willis is ready for a starting opportunity. That means the Packers will have a new backup quarterback; Desmond Ridder, who joined the team late in the season, is the early front-runner.

These Packers Are Safe, No Matter the Money

Safety Xavier McKinney ($17.85 million) and running back Josh Jacobs ($11.33 million) rank sixth and eighth on the roster, respectively, in cap charge for the upcoming season.

McKinney has an $8.5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year, and the team could save $7.59 million against the cap, but there’s no way they’re going to release a player who’s been first- and second-team All-Pro during his first two seasons.

Had MarShawn Lloyd panned out, maybe the Packers could sever ties with Jacobs, who is due a $10.2 million base salary. But the Packers don’t even have another running back under contract, let alone one ready to be the No. 1 back. So, Jacobs is a lock to return, as well.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER