The Green Bay Packers knew they were going to lose Rasheed Walker this offseason, but it was only a question of how much he would earn and who would be willing to pay it. Spotrac estimated a price tag of $20.3 million per season and a four-year deal worth $81.1 million. However, things didn’t seem to be going as planned when ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested during an appearance on ESPN Milwaukee on Thursday morning that Walker could be forced to take a one-year deal.
It turns out Schefter’s intel was correct, as NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed that Walker had agreed to a one-year contract that could be worth up to $10 million with the Carolina Panthers on Friday afternoon. The low price tag has raised some eyebrows among Packers fans, as it was assumed that Walker would get the bag, but it’s also a sign that Walker will have to prove himself for a bigger payday next offseason.
Rasheed Walker’s Grass Wasn’t Greener After Leaving Packers in Free Agency
Walker’s free agency was a topic that loomed over last season. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in a notebook last November that Walker would get “paid paid” in free agency and cited Dan Moore’s four-year, $82 million contract as an example for teams shelling out big money for average play at the left tackle position.
But Packers fans knew that Walker wasn’t worth the type of money reserved for elite offensive tackles. While he posted a Pro Football Focus grade above 60 in all three of his seasons as a starter, he never broke 70, including a 63.0 grade last season. He also allowed 14 sacks and a 6.6 percent pressure rate in 1,693 pass-blocking snaps, meaning a team would be overpaying for Walker if they gave him a monster free agent deal.
This led to Schefter’s report that Walker was considering a one-year deal, and it played into the Panthers' hands. Schultz explained that the Panthers were in dire need of a one-year stopgap at left tackle after Ikem Ekwonu suffered a ruptured patella tendon during last year’s playoffs and took another blow when former Packer Yosh Nijman retired earlier this week. Walker didn’t get the big deal he was searching for, so he took the one-year deal from Carolina with the goal of “proving himself again,” which “could set him up well for free agency next year.”
It’s an approach that several offensive tackles have taken this year. The Chicago Bears are pitting two of them against one another in a competition as Braxton Jones returned to the team and Jedrick Wills Jr. arrived on one-year contracts, and the Detroit Lions may be in the same boat as they look to replace the recently released Taylor Decker.
The Packers are in better shape without Walker. 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan is expected to assume the left tackle position in his departure, and Green Bay will hope the change improves their offensive line next season. It’s something that Walker probably wishes were an option once he saw what his market was like in free agency, and now leads him to try to prove himself as he heads to Carolina.