With the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line falling apart in recent weeks, the best thing the Packers can do is try to keep things together as best as they can. A group that ranked sixth in Pro Football Focus’s final offensive line rankings last season, Green Bay will have to make some important decisions as it has fallen to 17th this year, and longtime vets such as Rasheed Walker could be sent out the door.
Walker has been one of the few constants on the Packers’ offensive line this season, as his 68.1 overall grade ranks third among offensive linemen on the team behind Zach Tom and Darian Kinnard, per PFF. While that grade won’t blow anyone away, it has some value for teams that need help on the blindside, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Walker will cash in when he becomes a free agent next spring.
“The expectation is that [Rasheed] Walker hits free agency, where big money awaits even average tackles,” Fowler wrote in a notebook released on Wednesday. “One NFC executive says Walker is better than Moore and will get ‘paid paid’ as a result.”
Walker may be deserving of a new contract and could get the money he deserves if he hits free agency. But if he leaves town, it puts other decisions under the microscope, including last offseason’s signing of Aaron Banks.
The Aaron Banks Contract Could Hurt Green Bay Beyond This Season
The Packers signed Banks as their centerpiece of a rebuilt offensive line. Replacing struggling center Josh Myers, who left for the New York Jets in free agency, Banks got a four-year, $77 million contract and has become an anchor for the offensive line – just not the one the Packers were hoping for.
Banks’s 53.5 overall PFF grade ranks 60th out of 84 qualifying guards this season. While he’s struggled in pass protection with 11 pressures on 202 pass blocking snaps, he’s also missed time due to ankle, groin, back, and shin injuries. The residual effect also took a toll on Jenkins, who faced challenges moving to center to replace Myers and may not bleed into next season as the Packers try to keep Walker.
Fowler mentioned Dan Moore Jr. as a possible example after he signed a four-year, $82 million deal with the Tennessee Titans last spring. Moore was a serviceable left tackle during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, owning a 67.2 grade on 1,111 snaps last season, and he got a large chunk of cash from a Titans team that needed to protect Cam Ward’s blindside. Moore is still a solid player with a 63.1 grade this season, but isn’t worth the $10.8 million cap hit he has for this season or the $26.3 million hit for 2026.
Spotrac also hints that Walker will receive a raise in pay next season, with its projection that Jonah Williams of the Arizona Cardinals has an annual value of $17.95 million on his next contract. Despite Williams' 55.9 overall PFF grade and his less premium position of right tackle, Walker could push for a contract in excess of $20 million next spring.
With just $10.2 million in cap space for next season, according to Over The Cap, Walker is a pending free agent that could be out of the Packers’ price range. With Romeo Doubs and Quay Walker also expecting big contracts, Banks’s $19.25 million AAV that he received from the Packers is sticking out like a sore thumb and could continue to have ramifications beyond a rocky first season in Green Bay.