Trading Colby Wooden Will Increase Packers’ Interest In These Free Agents

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ need to beef up the interior defensive line was apparent the moment T.J. Slaton signed with the Bengals in free agency last offseason. Trading Kenny Clark as part of the blockbuster Micah Parsons deal only exacerbated the need.

That need intensified further when the Packers traded Colby Wooden on Saturday.

Will general manager Brian Gutekunst strengthen the unit when NFL free agency begins on Monday? Our free-agent previews continue with the defensive tackles.

Any Packers in Free Agency?

The Packers have only one free agent, Jonathan Ford. A seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022, he returned to the team late last season. He is scheduled to be a restricted free agent; the Packers almost certainly will not tender him, meaning he’ll become unrestricted on Monday.

Packers Free Agent Outlook

General manager Brian Gutekunst has a history of signing a free agent and then doubling up in the draft. Trading Colby Wooden, the 2023 fourth-round pick who is only 25 years old, almost guarantees that will be the approach this offseason. While there are a decent number of useful veterans available in free agency, the pool of instant-impact draft prospects could be empty by the time the Packers are finally on the clock in the second round.

The Packers clearly need help. That was apparent at the end of last season, when Gutekunst took fliers on Jordon Riley, Quinton Bohanna and Jonathan Ford. Riley suffered a torn Achilles and Bohanna didn’t pan out, so they brought back Ford, who didn’t play a single snap in more than two seasons with the team.

Not only did the Packers trade Wooden, who had six tackles for losses last season, Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks will play the 2026 season under expiring contracts, though Wyatt is likely to get a contract extension as he’s set to play the upcoming season on the fifth-year option.

Free Agent Defensive Tackles Who Could Interest Packers

John Franklin-Myers, Broncos (29): Franklin-Myers helped power the Broncos’ prodigious pass rush. In two seasons with the team, he had 14.5 sacks and 33 quarterback hits. He entered the league as a fourth-round pick by the Rams in 2018 but failed to make their roster in 2019 and didn’t play in a game that season. From 2021 through 2025, he’s started all but four games. If the goal is to crank up the pass rush, he’s the best player on the market.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws downfield under pressure from John Franklin-Myers (98) and others. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Calais Campbell, Cardinals (40): Nobody outruns Father Time but Campbell is putting up one hell of a fight. Campbell returned to Arizona last season and was a team captain for then-coach Jonathan Gannon. The oldest defensive player in the NFL is coming off a season of 6.5 sacks and a third consecutive season of 17 starts. He remains rock solid against the run. Really, the only place where age might be showing up is as a tackler, where he misses too many. You can read more about the “living legend” here and here.

Logan Hall, Buccaneers (26): Hall was the first pick of the second round of the 2022 draft. In four seasons, he played in 66 of a possible 68 games with 39 starts. After recording 5.5 sacks and six tackles for losses in 2024, he had 1.5 sacks and two tackles for losses in 2025, though he did set a career high with 39 tackles. In a group of aging free agents, Hall is the rare, in-his-primer player who is on the upside of his career rather than the downslope.

David Onyemata, Falcons (33): The native of Nigeria had only one sack in 2025 but he set a career high with 62 tackles, which included seven for losses. He might be getting up there in years, but he remains a rugged run defender and reliable performer. He played in all 17 games (with at least 16 starts) three of the past four seasons. If the Packers want a run-stopper – and they should – he could be the best option.

Sebastian Joseph-Day, Titans (31): Joseph-Day spent the last two seasons with the Titans, playing in all 34 games with 22 starts. He had two sacks and six tackles for losses in 2025; that’s as many TFLs as the previous two years combined. He has been an impact run defender in his eight seasons.

Javon Hargrave, Vikings (33): The Vikings are expected to release Hargrave, who played in 16 games (15 starts) during his one year with the team. He had 3.5 sacks and four tackles for losses among 52 tackles last season. Hargrave had two huge seasons with the Eagles when Jonathan Gannon was their defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022 with a combined 18.5 sacks, 34 quarterback hits and 123 tackles.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) is brought down by Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Javon Hargrave. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

D.J. Reader, Lions (32): Reader started all 17 games last season and 32 of 34 games in his two seasons in Detroit. In 10 NFL seasons, he has just 12.5 sacks – including zero in 2025 – but the 330-pounder is a reliable run-stopping defensive tackle. Reader might challenge Onyemata as the best run-stopper on the market.

Jonathan Allen, Vikings (31): After eight seasons in Washington, which included Pro Bowl seasons in 2021 and 2022, Allen signed with the Vikings last year. He started all 17 games and had only 3.5 sacks. His 68 tackles, though, matched his career high. He is expected to be released by the Vikings.

Sheldon Rankins, Texans (32): Rankins had six sacks and nine quarterback hits for the Texans in 2023 but one sack and one quarterback hit in seven games for the Bengals in 2024 and three sacks and nine quarterback hits in 17 games (all starts) in his return to Houston in 2025.

DaQuan Jones, Bills (34): The 320-pounder had three sacks and eight quarterback hits in 12 games (all starts) for the Bills last season, when he missed five games after injuring a calf during pregame warmups.

Khyiris Tonga, Patriots (30): The 335-pounder started seven games during his first four seasons with the Bears, Vikings and Cardinals, then started eight games for the AFC-champion Patriots in 2025, when he even played a little fullback. He has one-half sack for his career. He played with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in Arizona.

Roy Lopez, Lions (29): A sixth-round pick by Houston in 2021, he started 29 games in two seasons with the Texans and 21 games under Jonathan Gannon in Arizona in 2023 and 2024. He played off the bench in 17 games for the Lions last season with two sacks, four tackles for losses and 30 tackles.

Shelby Harris, Browns (35): The Milwaukee native played in 17 games with five starts in 2025. While he had only one sack, he had seven tackles for losses. He’s no longer an impact pass rusher but his average tackle on running plays came just 1.4 yards downfield. His game-saving blocked field goal against the Packers was the sixth of his career.

Jordan Elliott, 49ers (28): A third-round pick by the Browns in 2020, he spent the last two seasons with the 49ers. He played in 31 of a possible 34 games with the Niners, including 29 starts, and had zero sacks and three tackles for losses.

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