Fifth-year linebacker Isaiah McDuffie fully arrived for the Green Bay Packers during Thursday's Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, amassing 12 tackles — seven of them solo, two of them TFLs. His Pro Football Focus grades for tackling (83.6), run defense (87.8), and overall defensive performance (87.0) were all season-highs, too.
After five years of working his way up the depth chart, McDuffie owns a solidified role in Green Bay.
As much as McDuffie is an example of why you never give up on a player, even a sixth-round draft pick, the flip side is that Quay Walker is probably losing his job. Walker is the weak link of a strong Packers defense that held it together in the fourth quarter to stave off a Lions comeback, but has been more inconsistent than expected, considering the talent, in 2025.
Quay Walker's Packers Outlook Takes a Huge Hit in Week 13
This wasn't supposed to be the case. Walker was supposed to earn a contract for next year and prove to general manager Brian Gutekunst that he was the right pick coming from a national champion-to-NFL factory 2021/2022 Georgia Bulldogs squad. Walker even came into the season promising that he'd get it together.
“Honestly, I never really think about it,” Walker said before Week 1, per Sports Illustrated. “Of course, we’re in discussions or whatever the case may be. I’m not going to go into full detail about that. But I don’t really like to think about it. I just want to play ball. I just want to live up to my ceiling... I’ve just got to go out and let my work show for itself. That’s going to be it. And that’s pretty much all I have to say.”
But instead of his performance silencing the doubters, Walker is being outshone by a feel-good story. That's not a good place for anyone to be in a contract year, especially when another contract from the Packers is far from guaranteed.
Walker had a hot start to the season that lent credence to the idea that Green Bay would be wise to hand him the projected $50-60 million contract some have him pegged for. Had that level of play continued, it'd be easy to justify a gaudy payday.
Now, though, there are question marks. His price tag should still be high, because NFL front offices are increasingly losing leverage in free agent negotiations as record contracts continue to be doled out, but whether or not it should be paid by the Packers is anything but a given. As great as he can be, Green Bay may walk away from negotiations if they aren't confident in his ability to be consistent.
It also helps that the Packers have other LBs who can step up if Walker leaves town. Ty'Ron Hopper is still under contract through 2027 and has played well in a backup role, while Edgerrin Cooper is also locked down for that length as he continues to become a household name.
McDuffie made things a lot more complicated for Green Bay's front office with his emergence. He only has one year left on his contract after this season, meaning the Packers could prioritize giving him a long-term extension rather than re-signing Walker, who might not have much time left in America's Dairyland.