The Packers have already had a busy month of March. Seven starters are no longer on the team. Players who combined to play over 3,300 offensive snaps, 3,000 defensive snaps, and 700 special teams snaps are gone. The Packers signed three players in free agency, but it’s fair to say that more was lost than gained.
Brian Gutekunst is banking on some addition by subtraction. He let some key players go because he felt comfortable with some in-house replacements. He also prioritized gaining draft capital and cap space rather than spending significant money in free agency. It’s smart thinking for the long-term, but does it come at the price of the short-term outlook?
The roster is far from finished. There’s still a lot of ballgame left. The draft is only a month away, and there will be another wave of free agents signed sometime after that. But now that the first wave of free agency has wound down, it felt appropriate to take a position-by-position look at which groups have improved, which groups have stayed the same, and which groups have gotten worse.
#Packers roster turnover in past week:
Quay Walker ➡️ Zaire Franklin
Colby Wooden ➡️ Javon Hargrave
Nate Hobbs ➡️ Benjamin St-Juste
Romeo Doubs ➡️ Matthew Golden
Rasheed Walker ➡️ Jordan Morgan
Skyy Moore, an actual return specialist
Brian Gutekunst checked a lot of boxes.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) March 13, 2026
Jordan Love is back, and assuming he stays healthy all season, nothing else really matters. That said, Love hasn’t proven he can stay healthy for all 17 games. The Packers were fortunate to have arguably the league’s best backup in Malik Willis, but Willis earned himself a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Miami Dolphins. The only other quarterbacks under contract are Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord, who were both added late last season. The departure of Willis leaves a massive void, and one that Ridder and McCord probably won’t fill.
The Packers will also be without Sean Mannion, who was hired to be the new offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Mannion was considered one of the best young offensive minds. He was replaced by Luke Getsy, who has experience coaching quarterbacks, but isn’t exactly a fresh, innovative voice.
Bottom line: The quarterback group has gotten significantly worse without a proven backup on the roster.
Josh Jacobs will return as Green Bay’s bell cow running back. He’s coming off a bit of a down year, rushing for only 929 yards while battling injuries throughout the year. The 28-year-old running back will head into his eighth season, so it’s fair to wonder how much he has left in the tank. The Packers also prioritized retaining Chris Brooks, the ultra-versatile, do-a-little-of-everything back. MarShawn Lloyd will be back for his third year with the team, but the team can’t rely on him to stay healthy until proven otherwise.
Emmanuel Wilson is the main loss for the running back group. After the Packers extended Brooks, Wilson signed with the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers will definitely need someone to step into Wilson’s role as the number two guy. Damien Martinez and Pierre Strong Jr. are candidates. Regardless, Gutekunst will need to add another body via the draft.
Bottom line: The running back group has gotten worse.
The Packers lost a significant contributor in Romeo Doubs. Doubs signed a four-year deal worth up to $80 million with the New England Patriots. Doubs played more snaps (780) than any other skill player for the Packers last season. He also led the team in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns. That’s a pretty significant hole to fill.
Matthew Golden is the obvious choice to step into the void left by Doubs. The former first-round pick is more of an explosive threat, but Doubs was Love’s go-to player on third down and in the red zone. Christian Watson and Jayden Reed will also step into larger roles. Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams, and Skyy Moore will round out the receiving corps, giving the Packers plenty of options and depth. The Packers also hired a new, young wide receivers coach in Noah Pauley.
Bottom line: The wide receiver group has gotten worse today, but this group could end up being better by season’s end if they reach their potential.
Tight end won’t look much different in 2026, but there are reasons for concern. Tucker Kraft is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered on November 2. The Packers will also be without John FitzPatrick, who was a valued blocker, due to a torn Achilles tendon.
Kraft might not start the season at full health, but he’s expected to return sooner rather than later. Luke Musgrave will return, but he doesn’t provide anything in the run game and hasn’t consistently found his footing as a pass catcher. Josh Whyle will also return to round out the group, but likely in a limited role.
Bottom line: The tight end group has gotten worse until Tucker Kraft is back to full health.
The Packers are hoping for some addition by subtraction with this group. The Packers released starting center Elgton Jenkins to save themselves $19 million in salary cap space. Then they let starting left tackle Rasheed Walker sign with the Carolina Panthers in free agency. That’s 1,525 snaps they will need to replace. To make matters worse, it was a much smaller deal than expected for Walker, so the Packers won’t get the compensatory pick they were hoping for.
As dire as it might seem, the Packers might be better off. Jordan Morgan will take over at left tackle, and he could have a higher ceiling than Walker did. He will also have a full offseason to prepare at one position. Anthony Belton will also get a full offseason to prepare as a guard. The Packers also liked what they saw in Sean Rhyan at center. They re-signed him on a three-year, $33 million deal. The starting offensive line is now expected to be Walker, Banks, Rhyan, Belton, and Tom. The team did retain Darian Kinnard as the sixth offensive lineman and swing tackle, but the unit’s depth definitely took a hit.
Bottom line: The offensive line will be improved, but everyone needs to stay healthy.
DT Javon Hargrave's son was stoked to hear his dad was going to be a Packer 🤩
🎥 via IG/grave_digger97#NFLonDAZN #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/02panNcllE
— NFL on DAZN (@NFLonDAZN) March 13, 2026
The Packers had plenty of issues along the defensive line last season. To make matters worse, Gutekunst traded Colby Wooden, one of his starting defensive tackles, to the Indianapolis Colts to fill a separate hole. Wooden was going into the final year of his contract, but the contract was inexpensive, and he was coming off the best year of his young career.
Gutekunst replaced Wooden by signing Javon Hargrave to a two-year, $23 million deal. Hargrave is known for his abilities as a pass rusher, but he won’t really help the run defense. Hargrave will join a group that contains Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson, Nazir Stackhouse, Jordan Riley, and Jonathan Ford. Hargrave will help, but the Packers still lack a quality nose tackle.
Bottom line: Overall, the interior defensive line has stayed the same. The interior pass rush should be improved, but the run defense could get worse.
The Packers might end up starting the 2026 season with Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell as their primary edge rushers. Yikes. Brenton Cox and Collin Oliver are the only other healthy edge rushers as of today. Hopefully, Sorrell and Oliver can take a second-year jump, but that’s a big ask. Not to mention, there could be a learning curve transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4. On the bright side, Micah Parsons will be back from his torn ACL at some point. He’s good enough to make any position group elite.
Rashan Gary was pretty bad for the Packers down the stretch. He didn’t record a sack after Week 8 and was often seen lightly jogging after opposing quarterbacks. The Packers were able to offload Gary to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2027 fourth-round pick. Kingsley Enagbare won’t return either after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the New York Jets. The Packers should receive a compensatory pick in return, but that’s still 1,121 snaps vacated. Brian Gutekunst will need to add more bodies via the draft in April.
Bottom line: With or without Micah Parsons, the edge group has gotten worse until they prove otherwise. There's just too much unknown to be considered "improved," even when Parsons is back.
Zaire Franklin is one of the bigger additions that Brian Gutekunst made this offseason. The former All-Pro will join a style of defense he’s thrived in before, but he is coming off his worst year as a starter. The Packers are hoping he will return to his 2024 form, and are betting on it by giving him a pay raise. Franklin will join a linebacker group that returns Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper, Nick Niemann, and Kristian Welch. Newly hired Sam Siefkes will now lead this group as the linebackers coach.
Quay Walker is the noteworthy omission from the list. Walker signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders after reportedly turning down extension offers to stay in Green Bay. The Packers should earn a compensatory pick with Walker leaving in free agency.
Bottom line: The linebacker group is going to be improved, and the compensatory pick and money saved are an added bonus.
More comments from Zaire Franklin's interview on the Jim Rome Show (@jimrome), about what went through his mind when he found out he was traded to Green Bay:
“I mean, you know, first thing first, you know, a lot of respect for the head coach, Coach LaFleur. Obviously, we played… https://t.co/JSD5M3AQjI pic.twitter.com/AUYGltjfAV
— Matt Froehlich (@Matt_Fra_) March 13, 2026
Look away, Packers fans. Keisean Nixon will return as one of the starting cornerbacks. Carrington Valentine will compete for the other starting spot. The only addition Brian Gutekunst has made to the cornerback position is Benjamin St-Juste, who was a part-time player last season, but earned a 75.6 grade from PFF in 356 snaps. Kamal Hadden was retained but is coming off a significant ankle injury. Daniel Bullocks will assume the role of cornerbacks coach with the departure of Derrick Ansley.
The most notable move Gutekunst made was releasing Nate Hobbs just one year after signing him to a four-year, $48 million deal. Hobbs battled injuries all year and struggled to get comfortable as a boundary corner. The Packers had to move on from Hobbs, although it left the cornerback group incredibly thin. Gutekunst will need to address the position in the draft.
Bottom line: This group has stayed the same, but it’s hard to envision it getting better - only worse.
The safety position will look very similar in 2026. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard will be the core group who play a bulk of the snaps. Kitan Olapado will be the primary backup for all three. The major change is with the coaching staff. Bobby Babich will now coach the safeties. Babich has defensive coordinator experience and a track record of developing safeties. Jonathan Gannon has also shown the ability to use his safeties creatively.
The main losses are Zayne Anderson, Ryan Downard, and Derrick Ansley. Anderson proved to be a competent backup, but Oladapo should be able to fill that void. Downard and Ansley could be missed, but Babich is a really encouraging hire who could elevate the unit to an even higher level.
Bottom line: This group has stayed the same, but with a higher ceiling.
Green Bay’s special teams units are almost assuredly better than they were in 2025, although they will have a new coordinator. Achord is still a wild card, so it’s hard to say if he’ll be better or worse, but the units should be in decent shape. There won’t be any changes to the battery: Brandon McManus will return and should be better than he was last year, Daniel Whelan has continued to get better year after year, and Matt Orzech will be the long snapper. It’ll be the third year those three will work together.
The Packers signed Skyy Moore to a one-year, $2.5M contract. The deal included a $1 million signing bonus. Moore averaged 11.6 yards per punt return and 27.5 yards per kick return last season for the 49ers. Moore will immediately upgrade both return units. The Packers also retained Nick Niemann, Kristian Welch, Arron Mosby, and Bo Melton to help stabilize their coverage units. Newly signed Benjamin St-Juste is also an experienced special teams player. The Packers' main losses on special teams are Rich Bisaccia, Zayne Anderson, and Kingsley Enagbare, but all three should be able to be replaced.
Bottom line: This group is much improved, perhaps by a lot.