This gives Green Bay five roster-caliber linebackers going into next season: Franklin, Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper and now Niemann. Previously, it was common for the Packers to just roster four off-ball linebackers when they ran 3-4 defenses, which is what new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is expected to run in Green Bay. The fact that Niemann was brought back might be a sign that the team will continue to keep five off-ball linebackers on the roster, which they did under Jeff Hafley (and probably at the request of Rich Bisaccia, too).
Niemann was basically a special-teams-only player for the Packers, the only one the team consistently rostered throughout the 2025 season. The other player who might fit this mold is “defensive end” Arron Mosby, but even he wasn’t brought up to the 53-man roster until Week 10.
Niemann was picked up by the Packers after the cutdown deadline, following his release from the Houston Texans. He signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Texans but never played a regular-season snap with the team. After cashing in his signing bonus in Houston, Niemann played on a $1.17 million base salary with Green Bay in 2025.
Niemann played 114 special teams snaps for the Packers over seven games before suffering a pectoral injury. He was activated from the injured reserve for the playoffs, when he saw his first defensive snap of the season on the two-point conversion attempt that the Chicago Bears connected on (because Edgerrin Cooper went down with an injury).
Green Bay’s move to convert Xavier McKinney’s salary into a signing bonus got them under the cap going into 2026, but the trade of Franklin (who carries a $7 million cap charge) and the re-signing of Niemann (undisclosed contract details) get the Packers back over the cap. They’ll either need to release some players for cap relief or convert more salary into bonuses (stretching those dollars over several years of cap space) between now and March 11th.