The Green Bay Packers almost always seem to have one of the top offensive lines year after year, but 2025 hasn’t been the same dominating play that fans are accustomed to seeing. The Packers have been fortunate to have many years of strong play from their tackles. From Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton to David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, the Packers had talented and stable bookends for over two decades.
Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker are the newest duo of tackles to hold down the position. Both players are now in their fourth seasons with the team, and both have done an admirable job since being drafted in 2022.. Tom’s performance earned him a four-year, $88 million extension back in July. Walker, on the other hand, is in the final year of his rookie contract. He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
A couple of months ago, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that 2025 would be Walker’s last as a Packer. The Packers likely couldn’t afford to pay another offensive lineman. They also have some young guys, like Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton, waiting in the wings to take over. But based on how 2025 has gone thus far, the Packers might not be able to let Walker go.
Holding Down the Left Side
Walker is in the midst of having another nice season. He’s not playing at an All-Pro level, but he’s been above average. Walker has played 99% of the team’s snaps so far, and the only snaps he’s missed came from a helmet malfunction. He’s taken 295 pass block snaps and has only allowed three sacks, zero quarterback hits, and 20 pressures. He has been called for four penalties, but one was declined. PFF gave him a 66.4 overall grade, a 65.7 pass blocking grade, and a 62.5 run blocking grade.
The strength of the Packers’ offensive line is their ability to pass protect, and Walker has been instrumental in keeping Jordan Love upright. PFF created a stat to measure pressure allowed on a per-snap basis called pass block efficiency. Walker’s pass block efficiency is 95.9, which is 22nd amongst qualified tackles. Walker’s 93% pass block win rate is good for 14th.
Elgton Jenkins hasn’t played well in his transition to center, Aaron Banks hasn’t been healthy, and the Packers continue to rotate between Sean Rhyan and Jordan Morgan at right guard. Zach Tom is unquestionably the Packers’ best offensive lineman. After that, it’s probably Rasheed Walker. The idea of just letting Walker leave in free agency is a bit daunting to think about.
Gauging the Market
Money for offensive tackles continues to grow. NFL teams will pay for quality offensive linemen. Just last season, Dan Moore Jr. earned a contract with an average annual value of $20.5 million. Jaylon Moore got a deal averaging $15 million per season. By many accounts and metrics, Rasheed Walker is just as good as both of these players, if not better. Simply put, Walker is going to command a strong contract next season.
Using the pass block efficiency metric from PFF, Rasheed Walker has a higher score than several notable names, including Ronnie Stanley, Terence Steele, Orlando Brown Jr., Walker Little, and Dan Moore Jr. All five of these tackles have earned lucrative contracts.
| Player Name | Years | Contract Value | PBLK EFF |
| Rasheed Walker | ? | ? | 95.9 |
| Ronnie Stanley | 3 | $60,000,000 | 95.7 |
| Terence Steele | 5 | $82,500,000 | 95.9 |
| Orlando Brown, Jr. | 4 | $64,092,000 | 95.4 |
| Dan Moore, Jr. | 4 | $82,000,000 | 95.3 |
| Walker Little | 4 | $40,000,000 | 94.5 |
At just 25 years old, Walker’s best football is likely still ahead of him. Looking at the current tackle market, and taking into account Walker’s age and performance, he could easily command anywhere between $15-$20 million in average annual value. Whether the Packers decide to pay Walker or not, someone will.
Affording Walker Won’t Be Easy
According to Spotrac, the Packers are scheduled to have $21,674,034 in cap space next offseason, but that number can and will change. Regardless, that’s not a huge number. It’s the 21st-most cap space as of right now. The Packers are paying guys like Jordan Love and Micah Parsons a lot of money, so they’ll have to make concessions in other areas.
Quay Walker, Romeo Doubs, Kingley Enagbare, Rasheed Walker, and Sean Rhyan are among the big crop of upcoming free agents. In addition, players like Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, and Devonte Wyatt (and more) will be eligible for contract extensions. The Packers simply won’t be able to pay them all, but there’s an argument that Walker is one of the most important players listed.
One problem is that the Packers already have three offensive linemen under contract for next season with an average annual value of over $20 million. Tom, Banks, and Jenkins are scheduled to count for over $61 million combined toward the salary cap in 2026. It seems far-fetched that the Packers would be willing to pay four offensive linemen over $20 million each, even if they can make it work.
The Packers Have Decisions to Make
In recent years, the Packers prepared themselves for this decision. They drafted Morgan and Belton with premium draft picks to eventually become successors on the offensive line. Morgan, a left tackle throughout his college career, showed encouraging signs during the preseason of being a competent left tackle, although that was against a lot of backups. Maybe he will become a capable tackle. Or maybe he’s better suited to focus on playing guard, where he has played most of the regular season. Either way, there’s a lot of unknown. With Walker, the Packers know exactly what they have.
Financially, it could be tricky to afford to pay Rasheed Walker, while keeping other keep pieces of the roster intact. According to many reports, an extension for Quay Walker is imminent. The Packers will also make sure Tucker Kraft is a Packer for a long time, regardless of his ACL injury. Gutekunst has also shown he likes to be active in free agency. There’s not a lot of money to spend, but many ways to spend it.
The Packers might not have been planning to pay Rasheed Walker, but they might need to do it anyway. He’s the second-best offensive lineman on the roster and has plenty of good football still ahead of him. He might not be elite, but he’s consistent, competent, and available. Keeping Walker might mean the Packers have to move on from Elgton Jenkins or Aaron Banks, or not be able to sign another key player, but Walker continues to prove the Packers can’t afford to lose him.
The post The Packers Can’t Afford Rasheed Walker, But Probably Can’t Afford To Lose Him Either first appeared on PackersTalk.com Blog Posts and Podcasts.