While one Walker may be on his way out in Green Bay, the team would be wise to keep another in town.
Linebacker Quay Walker may be reasonably priced at a position where talent can be hard to come by. The Green Bay Packers declined Walker's fifth-year option last offseason, and now they will need to make a decision on whether his future will remain in Wisconsin.
With three games left in the 2025 regular season, Walker has amassed 443 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, and an interception in his career. He is a downfield menace who can wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage. And that, combined with his draft pedigree, should help him get a solid contract in 2026.
Finding Quay Walker's value
Platform Year Comps
Extrapolating Walker's current production over the full year puts him on pace for - per Pro Football Focus' tallying - 910 snaps, 115 total tackles, five tackles for loss, 46 defensive stops, and seven splash plays (pass breakups, interceptions, forced fumbles, or sacks). He has a 9.30 percent missed-tackle rate and a 5.03 percent stop rate.
Those marks compare closely with Ernest Jones' 2024 season when he registered 995 snaps, 130 tackles, four tackles for loss, 48 defensive stops, and four splash plays. Jones' missed-tackle rate last year was 9.09 percent, and his stop rate was 4.82 percent.
Jones signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract this past offseason, averaging $9.5 million per year.
Two-Year Comps
Looking at a broader scope, 2024-2025, Walker's production comes out to 1,657 snaps, 215 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 77 defensive stops, and 12 splash plays with a 9.07 percent missed-tackle rate and 4.63 percent stop rate.
RELATED: The 10 best linebackers in the history of the Green Bay Packers
Among linebackers who have signed contracts since 2020, the top comp for this production was Myles Jack's 2020-2021, setting up his 2020 contract. Over that time period, Jack tallied 1,848 snaps, 226 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 83 defensive stops, and seven splash plays. His missed-tackle rate was 9.86 percent with a 4.49 percent stop rate.
Jack signed a two-year deal in 2022 for $8 million per year.
Jones' APY was 3.40 percent of the salary cap this year, and Jack's APY was 3.84 percent. Those two data points set a range for Walker of $10.25 million-$11.5 million per year, based on an assumed 2026 salary cap of $300 million.
Could Quay Walker top $15 million per year?
Only six linebackers are actively making $15 million per year or more. For whatever you may think of Pro Football Focus grades, they do have a relatively strong correlation with contract values. Every one of those players had a PFF coverage grade of 60.0 or better in at least one of the three seasons leading up to their contracts.
Walker hasn't had such a season since his rookie campaign in 2022. A $15 million payday, even in an era where even solid linebacker play is difficult to come by, would mark a seismic market shift. It's not an impossibility, but one I see as unlikely.
The contract projection
Walker should be able to take advantage of a linebacker market devoid of talent at the top. He could fetch up to 20 percent higher than the range identified earlier. At $13.5 million per year over four years, Walker could secure as much as $54 million.
If he stays in Green Bay, around $17.5 million of that would come in a full guarantee with $20 million total in the first year, $12.75 million in 2027, $10.75 million in 2028, and $9.75 million in 2028.
In this scenario, where his contract is modeled after the Aaron Banks deal, his cap hits would come to $6.875 million in 2026, $17.125 million in 2027, $15.125 million in 2028, and $14.125 million in 2029. And in true Packers' tradition, should Walker not live up to his billing, keeping the guarantees to just the first year of the deal, they can walk away at any point starting in 2027 without screwing their cap position.