The Green Bay Packers entered the 2026 NFL free agency period facing significant salary cap pressure—and responded with a sweeping defensive overhaul.
The Packers saw several players leave for greener pastures, while others were lured to wear the green and gold next year.
Here is a look at which defensive players Green Bay lost and found, and how those transactions will impact the 2026 season. The question is simple: Did they get better?
Before the free agency period hit on March 9, the Packers were reportedly close to $33 million over the salary cap. With numbers like that, Green Bay knew they would be busy manipulating their roster for the upcoming season.
The Packers also understood that several veterans, many of whom were starters and solid contributors, would not be around when training camp opens in July.
Five of the Packers’ eight departing starters from 2025 came on defense, accelerating a major roster overhaul.
Defensive end Rashan Gary (traded to the Dallas Cowboys), defensive tackle Colby Wooden (traded to the Indianapolis Colts), and cornerback Nate Hobbs (released) were not technically free agent casualties, but they are a crucial part of the roster overhaul. While the absence of those three will be notable, how they fill the other two vacated spots will define the defense.
Arguably, one of the riskiest decisions the Packers made was allowing defensive end Kingsley Enagbare to sign a 1 year/$10 million deal with the New York Jets. While he did not own the brightest spotlight, Enagbare proved to be a valuable member of Green Bay’s defense.
Enagbare began the season behind Gary and Micah Parsons on the depth chart. When the starters missed games in 2025 because of injury, he stepped in and played admirably with the first team.
Enagbare’s stats were not gaudy, as he had only two sacks, six quarterback hits, and 14 pressures in just over 500 snaps. He did however, have 38 tackles, six of which were for loss, which ranked second on the team behind linebacker Quay Walker.
The reason why Enagbare’s and Gary’s departures are so tenuous is that Parsons will most likely be unavailable to begin the season. That leaves the two outside positions left for underwhelming Lukas Van Ness and unproven Brenton Cox, Jr. to fill.
Van Ness, who enters the final year of his rookie contract, has been mediocre at best during his time in Green Bay, especially considering he was a first-round pick. He will have to pick his game up considerably and stay healthy to fill the void left by Enagbare and Gary before Parsons is cleared.
The Packers are counting on Cox to regain the form he revealed during the 2024 season. Despite being a healthy scratch for Green Bay’s first nine games that year, Cox stepped up in the second half of the campaign. After Preston Smith was traded midseason, Cox’s four sacks over the final seven games tied him for the team lead with Gary.
While the sample size wasn’t huge, Cox finished the season with over 95 pass rushes. Of 130 edge rushers who had 95 or more, Cox finished 12th among the group in pass-rush win rate. In other words, he got his opportunity and took full grasp of it.
Cox’s 2025 season was marred by a groin injury, which did not allow him to recapture his 2024 mojo. Now healthy and ready to prove himself this year, Cox may be a cheaper alternative to fill a rush end spot. If he can do that successfully, saying goodbye to Enagbare will be less painful.
After spending the first four years of his career in Green Bay, linebacker Walker signed a 3 year/$40.5 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Walker was considered unlikely to stay a Packer and demand more than the $7.25 million he was to earn in Green Bay in 2026.
During his tenure on Lombardi Avenue, Walker steadily improved in his role as runstopper. A former first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft, he started 57 of 58 games in which he appeared for the team. He led Green Bay in tackles four straight seasons. He is one of three NFL players since 2000 to record at least 100 tackles and 1.5 sacks in each of his first four NFL seasons.
Over Walker’s career, he has registered 467 tackles (262 solo), 29 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, one interception, 17 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. In 2025, He finished with a career-high 128 tackles and added 2.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and five passes defensed.
Walker’s absence and production will be missed, but it was expected and preemptively prepared for. Before the free agency period began, the Packers traded Wooden to the Colts for linebacker Zaire Franklin as Walker’s likely replacement.
In Indianapolis, Franklin earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors after leading the NFL in tackles in 2024. What should also excite Packer fans is his developing skill to rush the quarterback. After registering zero sacks in the first four seasons of his career, Franklin has 10 (along with 19 QB hits and 33 tackles for loss) over the past four years.
Franklin, who is significantly cheaper (2 years/$18 million) than Walker, will pair up with Edgerrin Cooper to patrol the middle of the Packers’ defense.
In the NFL, there are no guarantees that the best laid plans regarding personnel moves will pay off. Injuries play a huge factor, especially in a brutal sport like football. Putting players in the right spots with the right scheme for them is also crucial. Trying to put a round peg in a square hole benefits no one.
For the Green Bay Packers in 2026, the need for new acquisitions and underachieving veterans to plug and play is crucial. Whether or not they can withstand the roster renovation without taking a step backward is the dilemma all of Packer Nation will anxiously ponder.
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