In a move that won’t inspire a ton of buzz, the Green Bay Packers quietly tacked on another year to linebacker Isaiah McDuffie‘s contract. The extension will keep McDuffie in Green Bay through the 2027 season.
While it won’t chew up a ton of headlines, the McDuffie extension is a great insurance policy.
Green Bay is in a peculiar spot at linebacker. Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper were expected to be a dynamic duo for years to come before Walker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Packers had more than enough time to hammer out a deal with Walker before he got even close to the door, so they clearly felt fine moving on from him.
To fill Walker’s void, the Packers traded for veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin. Now, Cooper and Walker hopefully will form a star duo of sorts. But the move to acquire Franklin isn’t a long-term play. Franklin has two years left on his deal. When it expires, Franklin will hit free agency in his age-32 season.
Then there’s Ty’Ron Hopper and McDuffie.
Green Bay took Hopper in the third round of the 2024 draft, but he has hardly sniffed the field since they took him. For one reason or another, Hopper hasn’t been able to climb the depth chart or even usurp McDuffie for his role. In two years, Hopper has played just 144 snaps on defense.
Meanwhile, McDuffie has been a model of consistency.
The former sixth-round selection in 2021 has missed only one game in the last four years. When Green Bay has been in a pinch on defense, he’s stepped up. While it may not be in extraordinary fashion or at a star level, McDuffie has been an ideal depth piece regardless of who’s running the show on defense.
Last year, McDuffie appeared in all 17 games and started 12. He played almost half the snaps on defense.
Green Bay’s hope under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will be to see Franklin and Cooper shine in starting roles. But if they face adversity, everyone knows who the Packers will turn to. It’s a somewhat under-appreciated role that McDuffie has taken on, but you can bet Green Bay knows his value.
The Packers likely have Franklin in place for the next two years and nothing beyond that. Cooper looked destined for stardom after his rookie season. He didn’t necessarily regress in Year 2, but he never took the leap to elite status that many expected. Hopper hasn’t been utilized much at all and enters his third year as a question mark. McDuffie is the one constant in the group and a massively important insurance policy for Green Bay through at least 2027.
McDuffie might not make highlight-reel plays or pose a daunting threat to opposing offenses. He’s a lunchpail-type player who is readily available and a depth piece that most defenses would love to have. Giving him the one-year extension is a win for both sides.
And that’s to say nothing of his contributions on special teams.
Nobody on the Packers played more special teams snaps last year than McDuffie, who logged 302, according to Pro Football Reference. In a group that’s been under plenty of scrutiny for over a decade, McDuffie has been a consistent contributor.
It would be logical to expect the Packers to find a long-term tag-team partner for Cooper in next year’s draft. For 2026 and 2027, Franklin will be that starter, while McDuffie also likely gets plenty of run. If Hopper isn’t part of the solution in Year 3, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever get a shot with the Packers.
Inside linebacker has long been a riddle Green Bay struggled to solve, and they’ve invested at the position. The Packers took Walker in the first round (2022), Cooper in the second (2024), and Hopper in the third (2024). That’s serious draft capital. Now they’ve paid out actual capital on the trade market for Franklin. Hopefully these investments finally pay off, but it’s nice knowing McDuffie is there.
It’s a move that won’t wow the masses or have podcasters spending hours discussing it, but every team needs players like McDuffie. When this season comes and goes, you can almost guarantee that McDuffie will be a huge asset on special teams, log plenty of snaps at linebacker, and be available for the full array of games for the regular season. That’s great value.
