Free agent LB Quay Walker expected to have 'strong market'
· Yahoo Sports
Why did the Green Bay Packers agree to a trade for veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin on Saturday, just days before the start of the new league year? The expected departure of free agent linebacker Quay Walker -- a 2021 first-round pick and 2025 team captain -- is the obvious answer. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Packers and Walker failed to find common ground on a new deal, and Walker is expected to have a "strong market" once he hits free agency.
The legal tampering period opens Monday. The new league year arrives on Tuesday afternoon. By Monday, Walker could have the framework of a deal done with a new team. By Tuesday, he could be a very rich man.
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The top of the market at off-ball linebacker is currently Fred Warner at $21 million per year. Walker could reasonably expect to get to $15 million, a number hit by both Nick Bolton and Jermaine Sherwood in recent years.
ESPN's Dan Graziano recently projected Walker to sign a three-year, $42 million deal in free agency. That would equate to $14 million per year.
It's clear the Packers decided Walker wasn't worth his asking price and changed directions, settling on Franklin -- who will bring with him a two-year deal that lacks guaranteed money and will cost the Packers around $7 million on the salary cap in 2026. Both Walker and Franklin have played a lot of football over the last four seasons. And like Walker in Green Bay, Franklin was a team captain in Indianapolis.
The Packers declined the fifth-year team option on Walker last offseason, but the team really had no choice given the price of the option for linebackers. After letting Walker play out his rookie deal without an extension, the Packers are now likely to let him find a big deal in free agency.
The upside here is the Packers will save money on the cap in 2026 and beyond and almost certainly receive a fourth-round compensatory draft pick for losing Walker (assuming they don't cancel out the loss with a signing of an unrestricted free agent) come the 2027 draft. The gamble here is the Packers are letting a first-round pick walk after four seasons and are replacing him with a player who will turn 30 in July.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers news: Free agent LB Quay Walker expected to have 'strong market'