On Monday, the Green Bay Packers announced they re-signed Isaiah McDuffie to a two-year, $8 million deal.
McDuffie, a sixth-round pick in 2021, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He turns 26 in July and has 19 career starts, including 10 in 2024.
Last season, McDuffie played 125 special teams snaps and 698 on defense. He has 183 tackles over the past two years. He’s an adequate run-stopper but allowed a 130.3 passer rating when targeted, the worst among Packers linebackers.
Eric Wilson is set to hit the open market. Quay Walker is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and Ty’Ron Hopper played just 18 defensive snaps last season, leaving the Packers thin at linebacker. While they need depth, there’s a case that Wilson, not McDuffie, is the safer choice for Brian Gutekunst to bring back.
Wilson played 559 defensive snaps in 2024, finishing as Green Bay’s second-highest-graded linebacker in coverage and overall. He led the team with 32 combined solo and assisted special teams tackles over the last three seasons. Wilson is also the only Packers player to record a top-five PFF special teams grade in that span. He turns 31 in September and would be a cheaper option than McDuffie.
When an ankle injury sidelined Walker, Wilson took over as the Mike linebacker and handled the role well. He directed the defense and executed his assignments effectively, earning praise from Jeff Hafley.
When you have to tell everybody else what they’re doing and then go out and execute your job, I know that might not seem hard, but that’s not easy.
Some of our calls can be kind of lengthy. So for him to make a tackle, get up, shake off whatever has happened, gather everybody up, tell everybody the call, hear something else, I might tell him what I think is coming to tell this guy or that guy and then line up and make a close call.
I mean, there’s a lot that goes into that, and I think he’s a veteran guy who brings calmness, and I think he’s had success doing that.
Wilson has outperformed McDuffie in every aspect of the game. However, McDuffie’s connection to Hafley is a significant factor that likely influenced Gutekunst’s decision to re-sign him.
Hafley coached McDuffie at Boston College in 2020, and McDuffie recorded 77 solo tackles, 22 assisted tackles, three sacks, and one interception that season.
“You wanna talk about tough? I mean, that guy… you gotta give him so much credit for how much he cares about this team and how badly he wants to play football on a short week,” Hafley said about McDuffie’s ability to play through injuries.
“To get his body ready to play in that game (vs. the Miami Dolphins), I mean, that guy is what is right about football, and it’s incredible what he was able to do. And then the way he played? I mean, that guy had some huge plays in the game.”
McDuffie will earn $4 million per year on his new deal, tying him for the 39th-highest-paid linebacker in the league. Considering that most teams carry about two starting linebackers, that equates to around 64 starters across the league. Surprisingly, $4 million falls in the middle of the pack for starting NFL linebacker salaries.
McDuffie will likely play alongside Walker and Edgerrin Cooper in base defense, where he can step in as a two-down linebacker to help stop the run. However, his 130.3 passer rating allowed in coverage should be more than enough for Green Bay to either give Ty’Ron Hopper a shot or pursue a coverage linebacker in the draft.
In my opinion, between the two linebackers slated to be free agents, Eric Wilson was the clear and safer choice for the Packers to retain. He will likely test the market, meaning his chances of returning to Wisconsin are slim. Still, McDuffie is a valuable special teams contributor and has earned his defensive coordinator’s trust. While I’m not a fan of this signing, hopefully, Hafley can bring out the best in him.
