Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst must decide this offseason whether or not to pick up the fifth-year options on the two players the team selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft: linebacker Quay Walker and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt.
Both players are already under contract for 2025. However, the Packers can use the fifth-year option to sign each player to a one-year deal for 2026 that would be fully guaranteed.
The cost of using the option has now been announced. For Walker, it would be $16.06 million. For Wyatt, $13.098 million. There would be no signing bonus or way to stretch out the cap hit on this one. The cap hit would be the exact amount listed. If the Packers opt to sign these players using the option, they would not be able to hit free agency until after the 2026 campaign.
Both Walker and Wyatt were productive players last season, but neither was a star. Walker played 13 games and had 102 total tackles. That includes 2.5 sacks, two passes broken up, and nine tackles for loss. He led the team in tackles despite missing four games.
His speed is a definite asset. Walker struggles at times to read plays and many of his tackles occur downfield, but as the season progressed, he did make more plays closer to the line of scrimmage.
The former Georgia star also wore the green dot on his helmet again this season. That meant he called the defensive signals and was in touch with the coaching staff before the snap of the ball.
In his end of season remarks, GM Brian Gutekunst praised Walker. “I think Quay continued to make a leap and [he’s] another guy who had struggled through injuries at the end of the year, but he was really impactful for us this year. [He] Continues to be a great leader for us,” Gutekunst said. “Certainly think, we would love to have him around here for longer than just a couple more years. He’s that kind of guy.”
Wyatt also attended Georgia and he and Walker were college teammates. The Packers selected him six spots after Walker in the 2022 NFL Draft.
This past season, Wyatt played 14 games, missing three. He was only on the field for 41 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and yet still managed to record five sacks and 23 total tackles. He also recovered two fumbles, made nine quarterback hits and nine tackles for loss.
Gutekunst also spoke highly of Wyatt. “D-Wy was probably our most consistent pass rusher from the inside this year,” he said. “I think both those guys had their best years as pros so far.”
The Packers most likely would want to retain both Walker and Wyatt beyond 2025. Both are useful starters who contributed to the success of Jeff Hafley’s improved defense in 2024. However, the price tag for the fifth-year option is probably more than the team would want to play them. Neither of them would be considered Pro Bowl caliber players at this point in their careers.
Ideally, the best move the team can make at this point would be to offer both players multi-year deals for less money per season than the fifth-year option would cost. That is similar to what the team did with Jordan Love when they signed him to a new deal last offseason. The salary and cap hit were lower than the fifth-year option would have been, but there was a large signing bonus and more years on the contract.
Depending on how the deal is structured and when it is announced, the team could even free up some cap space in the short term by signing a new contract with either player.
Of course, Walker and Wyatt may prefer to explore the free agent market sooner rather than later. The team has to reach a decision on the fifth-year option this offseason but does not have to rush into an extension with either player. They do not become unrestricted free agents for another year.
It is likely the Packers will decline the fifth-year option for both players and then seek to sign them to new deals at some point in the next 12 months.
-1732155307-q80.webp "Seahawks Designate S Rayshawn Jenkins To Return Among Other Moves")
