The Green Bay Packers must decide by May 1 whether to exercise Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt‘s fifth-year options as they enter the final year of their rookie contracts.
Exercising the fifth-year option would cost Green Bay $16.06 million for Walker and $13.1 million for Wyatt. Walker and Wyatt were productive last season but haven’t played like first-round picks. Walker led the team with 102 tackles in 13 games, adding 2.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and two pass breakups despite missing four games. Wyatt posted 32 pressures and three sacks in 12 games. Neither has played at a level that makes the option an easy decision.
Green Bay picked up Darnell Savage’s fifth-year option in 2022, which offers a valuable perspective in evaluating Wyatt and Walker.
Savage played 26 games in his final two seasons with Green Bay, allowing a 104.8 passer rating and posting an 18.05% missed tackle rate with a 47.2 tackling grade. He had flashes, including a pick-six against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, but inconsistency defined his tenure. In the divisional round, Savage dropped an easy interception that could have set Green Bay up in San Francisco 49ers territory. Then he missed a key tackle on Christian McCaffrey, allowing the 49ers to take a 14-13 lead.
Savage’s decline after the Packers exercised his option left Green Bay with an expensive commitment to an underperforming player. They can’t afford to repeat that mistake. Only Fred Warner, Roquan Smith, and Tremaine Edmunds earn more than $16.06 million per year among off-ball linebackers. Therefore, exercising Walker’s option would make him one of the highest-paid at his position despite not performing at that level.
The Packers picked up Savage’s option three months after their 2022 Divisional Round loss to the 49ers when it was clear Green Bay’s window for a final Aaron Rodgers run had closed. With just over $3 million in cap space and over $30 million in dead money, it was time to transition to Jordan Love. Still, Rodgers signed a three-year, $150.8 million extension in March 2022. To make matters worse, exercising Savage’s option only added to Green Bay’s financial burden without providing any real benefit.
Over the Cap projects the Packers to have just over $40 million in available cap space. With pressing needs at cornerback, pass rush, wide receiver, and interior offensive line, allocating $13 million to Wyatt and $16 million to Walker would limit their ability to be aggressive in free agency. If both were consolidated starters, committing those resources to them would make sense, but neither has justified the investment Green Bay made so far.
The decision to pick up Savage’s option deepened the Packers’ financial hole, though Rodgers’ contract already limited their options. However, Gutekunst has more cap flexibility to shape Green Bay’s roster this year.
Flexibility shouldn’t be an excuse to invest in unproven players. There are better ways to use that money to improve the roster immediately. Pass rushers like Khalil Mack and Chase Young, and cornerbacks like Paulson Adebo and D.J. Reed are likely to hit free agency. Investing in players like these improves Green Bay’s roster and represents a commitment to proven starting-caliber talent.
Green Bay is high on Walker and Wyatt heading into 2025. “Super fired up about both those guys’ seasons this year,” Gutekunst said at his season-ending press conference.
He praised Walker for making significant progress, noting that, despite struggling with injuries toward the end of the year, Walker remained impactful and continues to be a great leader. “Certainly think we would love to have him around here for longer than just a couple more years,”Gutekunst said. “He’s that kind of guy.”
He added, “D-Wy was probably our most consistent pass rusher from the inside this year.”
Gutekunst expressed pride in how Walker and Wyatt battled through various injuries while remaining disruptive. “I think both those guys had their best years as pros so far,” he said.
It seems likely that the front office will exercise both fifth-year options. However, this would mean allocating nearly $30 million in cap space to two unproven players, which is a questionable decision, to say the least. While Gutekunst could always take a historic revisionist approach to justify the move, there are more reasons not to exercise those options than there are to do so.