Quenton Nelson
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While the Green Bay Packers did not trade for starting left guard Quenton Nelson, they did attempt to. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that the Packers were one of the four teams to show the most interest in Nelson. Fowler did not note how serious the talks between Indianapolis and Green Bay were.
“The Packers, Bears and Eagles were among teams that showed varying levels of interest in Quenton Nelson, per source. His market was strong,” tweeted Fowler.
The Packers, Bears and Eagles were among teams that showed varying levels of interest in Quenton Nelson, per source. His market was strong.
The Seattle Seahawks traded a third-round pick this year and a 2028 fifth-round pick to acquire the All-Pro left guard.
Green Bay Packers Had Interest in Trading for Left Guard Quenton Nelson
Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Quenton Nelson
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Nelson went sixth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. When a guard goes that high, they have to hit the ground running in the NFL, and he did just that. Nelson was a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season and finished third in the Offensive Rookie of the Year Voting.
Nelson made the All-Pro team in each of the first three seasons of his NFL career. He made the second-team All-Pro in his fourth year and signed a massive four-year, $80M deal that locked him up through the 2026 season.
However, Nelson is now a free agent at the end of the season. The Colts are 2-5, and they just fired the GM who drafted and extended Nelson. The team is ready for a rebuild and is going to sell Nelson to the highest bidder.
Whether it was the draft compensation or the financial aspect of his contract, the Packers did not have as much interest as the Seahawks.
Packers Did Not Go All-in On 2026 Season
Ken Ingalls points out that if the Packers wanted to acquire Nelson, they would have had to make a few adjustments on the salary cap.
“Taking on Quenton Nelson’s contract requires $9.78m cap space. The Packers currently have $6.26m reduced to $4.19m effective cap accounting for basic future in-season costs. Was not an option for the Packers unless they reworked several existing veteran contracts to make room,” Ingalls tweeted.
So, Green Bay likely was asking Indianapolis to take on some of his salary. In that instance, the Packers would have had to beat a third-round pick and a future fifth. If Indianapolis was going eat some money, they would have likely asked for a second-round pick or more. That could be what stalled the talks for Green Bay.
The issue holding up the Packers’ cap is Aaron Banks. Signed a four-year, $77M deal last offseason and is expected to be their starting left guard. He started in one game and has 22 snaps this season due to injury.
If they knew he would have given them nothing, that money would be somewhere else or they would have had the space for Nelson. If Banks were healthy, the team would not even inquire about Nelson. Missing on Banks hurt Green Bay in two different ways when it came to adding Nelson.
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