Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst addressed the media in the days leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft. One of the things he addressed was the future of two key players. The team needs to figure out how to handle their situations by May 1st. Gutekunst said the Packers will look to extend these two key players after the draft, but he wants both to stay in Green Bay.
The Packers Will Look to Extend These Two Key Players After the Draft: The Situation
The Packers selected linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with their two picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Both players are about to enter their fourth season with the team. That is also the final year of their entry-level contracts.
Because these players were selected in the first round of the draft, the Packers have the option to sign them to a one-year extension using the fifth-year option. However, there are drawbacks to the option. There is no signing bonus, and the contract is just for one year. The cost would be high. Walker’s fifth-year option would cost the team $14.751 million. Wyatt would cost $13.922 million.
Quay Walker Thus Far
Walker became a starter immediately during his rookie season. In fact, he’s led the Packers in tackles in each of the last three seasons. The former Georgia star has good speed and wears the green dot on defense to communicate with the coaches before plays start.
However, Walker made too many tackles downfield. He has established himself as an above average starter but to take his game to the next level, he will need to make more impact plays.
Late in the 2024 campaign, Walker seemed to be playing better. The key question for Gutekunst and the Packers front office is whether that was just a string of strong games or Walker’s new, consistent level of play.
The Packers Will Look to Extend These Two Key Players After the Draft: Devante Wyatt Thus Far
Unlike Walker, Wyatt has not been a starter for most of his three seasons with the Packers. In fact, he only started five games in his career, all of them coming in 2023.
Wyatt played just 41 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last season. He essentially came in as a situational pass rusher. Getting after the quarterback is the strength of his game. He had a career-high 5.5 sacks in 2023 and followed that up with five last season despite missing three games.
While not a full-time player, Wyatt was the best inside pass rusher on the Green Bay defense among the defensive tackles.
His performance makes him a player worth keeping, but not necessarily worth more than $13.9 million per season.
Looking to the Future
When he addressed the media earlier this week, Gutekunst was asked about the fifth-year options for Wyatt and Walker.
“We won’t deal with that until after the draft, but whatever mechanism we use, we’d like to keep those guys around for ‘26 and beyond,” he explained. “So, whether that’s through doing the fifth-year option on these guys or extending them one way or the other, we’re planning to do that. We’d like to do that.”
Gutekunst wants to find a way to extend both players on a longer deal than the fifth-year option. That way, he can give the players a signing bonus and some money up front while providing the team with cap relief for 2026 and the remaining years of the contract.
The two former first round picks are solid players but are not presently worth the money they’d receive on their fifth-year option. Finding a fair deal with a signing bonus and a longer term but for less money per season would work better for the Packers and in some ways better for the players as well.
The Packers will have less than a week after the draft to decide if they want to utilize the fifth-year option on the two players. They will have more time to reach longer contracts if they can successfully negotiate it.
