The Green Bay Packers’ season came to a disappointing end as a 9-3-1 start turned into a five-game losing streak to close the year. With their trips to Cancun pushed up a few weeks, the Packers must examine what went wrong to make sure their Super Bowl dreams don’t transform into a deflating reality again in 2026.
One of the misfires came last spring when they signed Nate Hobbs to a four-year, $48 million contract. The cornerback had a rough season, battling injuries and allowing 17 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns with three penalties on 25 targets, according to Pro Football Focus. But as the Packers cleaned out their lockers on Monday, Hobbs vowed that the second year of his contract would be different.
“I think Packers fans…I don’t think they got a really good chance to see and know who I am in depth as a person,” Hobbs said, via Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I see the sentiments and…they say good things. Sometimes they can say…nasty things, whatever. But that's just part of what comes with it. …I don’t think you guys got to see a fair version of Nate Hobbs. I think you saw the version of Nate Hobbs that God chose this season to teach me what he had to teach me.
“Honestly, I know people may hate me for saying it, but I wouldn’t change a thing, man. It’s already written, bro. And so what y’all can expect from me is a fire…and I’m about to stand by that…it’s a fire in me. I promise you guys, Packer Nation, I’m going to be one of the best players on this defense next year.”
While Hobbs’s comments seem promising for a 2026 rebound, he may have also set himself up for an exit that could come as soon as this offseason.
Nate Hobbs’s Comments Could Fall on Deaf Ears for Packers Return
The Packers signed Hobbs in part because they saw their cornerback room fall apart at the seams toward the end of the 2024 season. Jaire Alexander was on his way out after a few injury-plagued seasons, and the combination of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine brought uncertainty to the position, even though they were established names in Green Bay.
Hobbs was supposed to bring stability to the cornerback room, but the logic may have been flawed. A slot corner with the Las Vegas Raiders, Matt LaFleur claimed he could play on the outside, but he was quickly exposed in that regard. He also didn’t seem to be a fit in the locker room, drawing LaFleur’s ire for hitting too hard during practice and injuring teammate MarShawn Lloyd during training camp.
The good news is that the Packers don't have any more clarity than they did one year ago. While the Packers could get out of Hobbs’s contract, it would also cost them $12 million in dead cap according to Spotrac, raising the odds he could get a mulligan for 2026.
These comments, however, have backed Hobbs into a corner. The veteran can say that he’ll be one of the best players on the defense, but after the 2025 campaign, why would the Packers trust him? At this point, Green Bay has seen him get burned and hurt when he’s on the field, only to make questionable decisions off of it. That may not be worth the $13 million cap hit he’s bringing into next season.
Either way, Hobbs may have filled out his own pink slip heading into the offseason, and it could be a matter of time until he’s on his way out of Green Bay.