Seven Packers Fighting for Their Next Contract Who Have Most to Prove

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has gotten a sizable jump on 2027 NFL free agency. With receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed given contract extensions, the expectation is tight end Tucker Kraft and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt will be next.

Kraft is a no-brainer. Before last year’s torn ACL, the run-after-catch monster had solidified his place as one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

“I feel like I went out as Tight End 1, in my opinion,” Kraft said. “Just the things that I do at the point of attack, where I’m at on any given play, I feel like I went out at the top.”

Wyatt is one of the better pass-rushing defensive tackles in the game. He’s set to play this season on the fifth-year option of $12.938 million. An extension would keep him in Green Bay beyond the upcoming season while probably cutting into his cap number for this season.

So, looking beyond those obvious selections, here are seven upcoming unrestricted free agents with the most to prove this season.

CBs Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine

Green Bay’s primary starting cornerbacks from the past two seasons, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, will be looking to, A, hold onto their starting jobs following the additions of Benjamin St-Juste in free agency and Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson in the draft and, B, set themselves up for their next payday.

Last season, 101 cornerbacks played at least 356 snaps (St-Juste’s number). According to Pro Football Focus:

Nixon was 76th with a 105.2 passer rating allowed, 48th with a 61.0 completion percentage, tied for 84th with seven touchdowns allowed and sixth with a 5.3 missed-tackle percentage. He was tied for last with 12 penalties.

Valentine was 84th with a 109.4 passer rating allowed, 26th with a 56.4 completion percentage, tied for 77th with five touchdowns allowed and 96th with a 22.7 missed-tackle percentage. He was guilty of four penalties.

St-Juste was seventh with a 64.0 passer rating allowed, 10th with a 50.0 completion percentage, tied for 18th with one touchdown allowed and second with a 3.3 missed-tackle percentage. He was guilty of two penalties.

For St-Juste, who played in a part-time role in his one season for the Chargers, it was the best season of his career. For Nixon and Valentine, it was indicative of who they’ve been. Nixon is uber-aggressive, which shows up in the penalties but is also reflected in tying for sixth with 17 passes defensed. Valentine has always covered well and tackled poorly.

If there’s an upside play, it’s with Valentine, who would be viewed differently had he not tied for the NFL lead with three dropped interceptions. But it’s a long shot that he’ll ever become a strong tackler. Opposing offensive coordinators know where to find bad tacklers.

For this season, both players are incredible bargains. Nixon has a base salary of $4.3 million for the final year of his three-year contract and Valentine got a raise to $3.674 million as part of the league’s proven-player escalator, which increases the fourth-year salary for late-round draft picks.

For both players, the first step in earning their next contract will be holding onto their starting jobs.

DT Karl Brooks

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks (94) forces Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams into an interception. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A sixth-round pick in 2023, Brooks did less with more last season. In 17 games and zero starts as a rookie, he had four sacks, six tackles for losses and 25 pressures. In 17 games and zero starts in 2024, he had 3.5 sacks, four tackles for losses and 25 pressures. In 16 games and seven starts in 2025, he had a half-sack, one tackle for loss and, once again, 25 pressures.

Brooks will be in the next-man-up battle behind presumptive starters Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave. He was drafted to be a penetrating, playmaking defensive lineman. Maybe new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon can get him back on track.

As with Valentine, his base salary was raised to $3.674 million.

TEs Luke Musgrave and Josh Whyle

The time is now for Luke Musgrave. A second-round pick in 2023, he was rolling through a solid rookie season – he was on pace to crush the Packers’ rookie records for a tight end – until he suffered a lacerated kidney. That opened the door for Tucker Kraft, who, of course, has been exceptional.

Musgrave has had chances. During the 2024 offseason, Kraft suffered a torn pectoral. That gave Musgrave an opportunity to reclaim the starting job or, at worst, be a 1B to Kraft’s 1A. He didn’t take advantage. During the 2025 season, Kraft suffered a torn ACL. That gave Musgrave an opportunity to be a real X-factor for the playoff-bound Packers.

During the nine games following the injury, Musgrave caught 15-of-21 passes for 164 yards and zero touchdowns. During that span, he ranked 35th among tight ends in catches and 36th in yards. He scored as many touchdowns as Kraft – zero. A total of 53 tight ends scored at least one. He hasn’t scored a touchdown or broken a tackle since his rookie season.

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) is hit after a catch against the Jets in the 2025 preseason. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin/Imagn Images

That would be all well and good if Musgrave was a people-mover in the run game. That, of course, has not been the case.

During the offseason practices, Josh Whyle was the more productive player. A fifth-round pick in 2023 by the Titans, he caught 28 passes for Tennessee in 2024. He joined Green Bay’s practice squad after final cuts last year and caught five passes for 36 yards and one touchdown after Kraft went down.

Kraft will be the starter. Whoever has the better training camp probably will get more opportunities during the regular season and, therefore, will be in a better position to enhance his next contract.

WR Skyy Moore

Skyy Moore signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract in free agency. After an excellent season as the 49ers’ kickoff and punt returner, the hope is he can provide a badly needed jolt for the Packers’ perennially poor special teams.

Moore isn’t just a returner, though – or at least he’d like to prove that statement true. A second-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022, he caught 22 passes for 250 yards as a rookie and 21 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown in 2023.

However, he didn’t catch any passes in six games in 2024. He was traded to the 49ers toward the end of training camp last summer and caught five passes for 87 yards in 17 games.

For the good of the season, the Packers need Moore to be a weapon as a returner. No team had fewer return yards than Green Bay the past two seasons. For the good of his next contract, Moore needs to show he can be a threat on offense. Given the uncertainty on the depth chart beyond Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed, he’ll have opportunities to carve out a niche on offense.

“I’m just trying to come out there and carve my role out,” Moore said. “I feel like I’m a very versatile guy. Whatever role I can fit, I’m going to run at it full steam and be the best at it.”

Edge Brenton Cox

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Brenton Cox Jr. (57) greets fans while participating in the Dream Drive bicycle ride. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The biggest question entering the season is who’s going to rush the passer and make quarterbacks uncomfortable until Micah Parsons is back on the field and back to being Micah Parsons.

The best might be Brenton Cox, who had four sacks in the first six games following the trade of Preston Smith in 2024. A groin injury sidelined him for most of last season – he had a sack in Week 18 – but he will be given every opportunity to be on the field in passing situations.

“I definitely think I’m talented enough to pick up the slack and get to the quarterback,” he said.

Pass rushers are worth their weight in gold. Cox is back on a one-year contract with a minimum base salary, a $250,000 signing bonus and per-game roster bonuses that could push it to $1.67 million. If he plays like he did in 2024 and collects a half-dozen sacks, he will get a lot more than a minimum contract in free agency.

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