Sportsnaut
A majority of the key starters on the Green Bay Packers roster in 2025 will be out there when training camp begins this coming week. The lineups on both sides of the ball look largely the same, but this could be the final year several key players suit up for the team.
Ahead of the 2026 NFL season, we’re highlighting five key members of the Packers roster who are potentially entering their final year with the club.
No longer viewed around the league as one of the 10 best running backs in the NFL, Josh Jacobs’ yard-per-carry average dropped significantly (4.4 to 4.0) in his second season with the Packers. He also averaged nearly 17 fewer rushing yards per game (78.2 to 61.0), and now faces some off-field concerns. Originally signed to a four-year, $48 million contract, it feels likely that 2026 is his final season as the Packers’ starting running back. After this season, Green Bay can release him in the spring and generate $13.5 million in cap space. It feels like a no-brainer given that Jacobs will be 29 years old next year.
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While Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has made plenty of smart moves in NFL free agency over the years, the Aaron Banks contract ($77 million over 4 years) always seemed like a head-scratcher. Banks couldn’t stay healthy during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, and he wasn’t all that great of a starting guard even when he could stay on the field. It was the same story in Green Bay this past season. He’s entrenched as the Packers’ left guard in 2026, but it would probably take a career-best season for him to earn long-term job security. He’s someone to keep an eye on as a post-June 1 release in 2027 since it would create $15.5 million in cap savings and Jager Burton is waiting in the wings for a starting spot.
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We’ve been skeptical about Luke Musgrave’s future in Green Bay for a while now. Formerly the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Musgrave has been far surpassed by fellow draft class member Tucker Kraft. It also now seems like Josh Whyle, who Green Bay picked up last year after he was released by the Tennessee Titans, could challenge for the No. 2 tight end role. Ultimately, we think Whyle and Musgrave wind up splitting reps in 2026, and that says everything about where the former second-round pick stands in this organization. On an expiring deal, we just don’t see any reason why Green Bay would re-sign him next offseason.
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Selected by Green Bay with the 232nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Carrington Valentine is another late-round success story for this franchise. The former seventh-round...
