Acme Packing Company
With the recent extensions of receiver Christian Watson and punter Daniel Whelan now finalized, let’s take a look at what the Green Bay Packers’ next move could be, as far as in-season extensions go. According to Over the Cap, the Packers are set to be over the 2026 salary cap already with just the players they have under contract next year, not including new extensions, their expected six-man 2026 draft class, the cost of practice squad players or the salaries of players who might end up on injury lists next season.
From this point forward, any new signings would mean that the Packers will likely have to borrow cap space from future years to juice the current roster. This doesn’t include extensions for the 2023 draft class, either, which will be eligible for multi-year extensions for the first time next spring. Starters among the 2023 class include defensive end Lukas Van Ness, receiver Jayden Reed, tight end Tucker Kraft, defensive tackle Colby Wooden and cornerback Carrington Valentine.
Just keep that in mind when we discuss these 2026 free agents potentially inking extensions with Green Bay during the 2025 season. Every dollar is going to start mattering for the Packers’ cap calculations.
The starters here, the players most likely to receive multi-year extensions, are receiver Romeo Doubs, left tackle Rasheed Walker, right guard Sean Rhyan and linebacker Quay Walker. In all likelihood, quarterback Malik Willis, tight end John FitzPatrick, defensive end Kinglsey Enagbare and linebacker Nick Niemann will probably test the open market, even if they eventually come back to Green Bay.
Based on the Packers’ recent actions, it seems like they’re ready to move on from Romeo Doubs and Rasheed Walker. Green Bay had the choice to sign Doubs to a multi-year extension this offseason, but instead chose to draft two top-100 selections at his position and give Watson a one-year extension to give them three contract-year players at receiver in 2026. It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines here. The Packers also went out of their way to bank snaps at left tackle for 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan this preseason, which should allow them to move on from Walker in 2026 while having confidence that they have an answer at the position next year.
As far as I see it, the most likely extension candidates among this group are Rhyan and Quay Walker. With center Elgton Jenkins commanding a massive cap hit in 2026, he’s the most likely cap casualty on the roster going into next season. If the Packers wanted to name Rhyan as their 2026 starting center, he wouldn’t come close to the $24.8 million cap hit that Jenkins is slated for in 2026. That’s one way to save some cap space. In an ideal...
