In what can only be described as one of the most colossal collapses and disheartening defeats in franchise history, the Green Bay Packers' 2025 season officially came to a close on Saturday night in the Wild Card Round, as they blew a 15-point lead over the final 15 minutes and surrendered 25 fourth-quarter points in a 31-27 loss to the rival Chicago Bears.
Blame can undoubtedly be thrown in all sorts of directions for this disastrous defeat, but the fact of the matter is that what's done is done, and all the Packers can do now is turn their attention to the 2026 offseason and hope they can make the necessary improvements to the roster to get themselves back to the postseason a year from now.
And some of those improvements will have to be made by replacing these five players who aren't likely to be on the Green Bay roster come the 2026 season.
These Green Bay Packers players likely won't return in 2026
Elgton Jenkins, C
Elgton Jenkins was clearly on borrowed time the moment the Packers signed Aaron Banks to a lucrative four-year deal last March to replace him at left guard.
And let's get real here. Even before a broken leg ended his 2025 season after just nine games, Jenkins was not performing as well as anyone would have liked at the center position, and it's safe to say most would agree that things improved when Sean Rhyan took over in the middle of the O-line.
Jenkins was once a great guard, as evidenced by his pair of Pro Bowl selections. But he's still being paid guard money, and his $24.8 million cap hit for the 2026 season is just far too big for a team that's currently more than $11 million over the projected cap figure for next year. The Packers would only take a $4.8 million dead cap hit by cutting him and would subsequently save $20 million. This is a no-brainer cut.
Rasheed Walker, LT
Sticking with the offensive line, we come to left tackle Rasheed Walker, whose 65.6 overall PFF grade during the regular season ranked 50th of 90 eligible tackles.
Now, for the $3.4 million the Packers paid the former seventh-round pick for the 2025 campaign, that might seem like a bit of a bargain. But with Spotrac projecting his market value to be a four-year deal worth $81.49 million, that's an easy no-go for the Green Bay front office.
It's time for Jordan Morgan to start living up to that first-round draft status.
Romeo Doubs, WR
A year ago at this time, many were wondering if Romeo Doubs should be on a list like this, as he'd just suffered his second concussion in about two months time during the Packers' Wild Card Round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. And there were certainly plenty of calls to cut him or trade him when Green Bay took Matthew Golden and Savion Williams with two of its first three picks in last April's draft.
But the Packers decided to stick with him, and he went out and actually led the team in receptions (55) and receiving yards (724), and tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns (six). And his resume only got better with his playoff performance against the Bears, as he made a team-high eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Green Bay is likely to give him a longer look than initially expected, but Doubs may have simply priced himself out of town, as he's expected to command somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million to $14 million per season on a new contract. Golden showing up big against the Bears should soften the blow, however, as the Packers finally saw what he can do when they actually throw him the football.
Malik Willis, QB
The Packers are likely going to need to find themselves a new backup quarterback, as one would assume Malik Willis will want to head to a team for which he can compete for a starting role, given the performances he put on this season (and last year as well) when stepping in for Jordan Love.
In four appearances during the 2025 campaign, Willis completed 30 of 35 passes (85.7 percent) for 422 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions, thus earning a 145.5 passer rating, and also adding another 123 yards and two scores on the ground while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Brandon McManus, K
Yep, we're going to go ahead and close things out with kicker Brandon McManus.
Naturally, it may seem his inclusion here is due to what happened against the Bears, as the veteran missed both a field goal and an extra point during that disastrous final frame. And we're not going to lie to you; it did play a part, as costing the Packers four points in a four-point loss is a bad look.
But we're not putting all the blame on the 34-year-old, as he obviously wasn't the one who gave up 25 points in 15 minutes.
That said, however, what went down at Soldier Field was simply the last straw, as McManus struggled throughout the season, missing six field goals and a PAT prior to his pair of misses against the Bears.
Sure, most of those misses occurred early in the season, and a couple of those misses did come on blocks. But let's not forget that fishy story about the severity of his quad injury a couple of months back, which was right around the time Cheeseheads everywhere for calling him to be either benched or cut.
The fact of the matter is that the Packers haven't really been able to rely on him in big spots, and when you miss big kicks in big games against the biggest of rivals, your job probably isn't safe.