Quay Walker’s fifth-year option is due in the coming months, but Brian Gutekunst would prefer a different avenue to retaining his fourth-year linebacker.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After adding Edgerrin Cooper to the mix by way of a second-round draft pick last spring, it appears like the Green Bay Packers want to keep their off-ball linebacker tandem together for the foreseeable future. The first—and only—order of business to ensure that happens will be inking Cooper’s running mate, Quay Walker, to a contract extension.

Walker, who is a former first-round pick, has the luxury of a fifth-year option in his contract. The Packers don’t have to sign him to an extension—if they want him on the roster through the 2026 season, all they have to do is pick up his option. However, as general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, the monetary figure for a fifth-year option as an off-ball linebacker is “a little wonky.”

“There’s so many edge guys that are part of that, which drives up that number, which probably isn’t great,” Gutekunst said, according to The Athletic. “But, yeah, we’d like to find a way to keep Quay around here long-term, whether that be an extension or something.”

The Packers would have to pay a guaranteed salary of $16.4 million dollars if they accepted Walker’s fifth-year option, according to Over The Cap. That figure alone would place Walker in the upper echelon of some of the highest-paid linebackers in football—whether or not he deserves to be there after leading the Packers in tackles each of the past three seasons is a conversation for another day. Only Tremaine Edmunds of the Chicago Bears, Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers and Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens would have higher annual salaries than Walker at that point. The fifth-year option window opened on Jan. 6 and closes on May 1.

Opting for a contract extension would be the best financial course of action for the Packers. Sure, on paper, it might appear like he becomes much more expensive, but Russ Ball and co. will have the flexibility to do as they please with the contract’s numbers. Whether that includes front-loading the deal or kicking the can down the road—a Gutekunst special during the twilight of Aaron Rodgers’ career in Green Bay—to lessen Walker’s cap hit in the present would be entirely the team’s decision. If the Packers want to maximize their Super Bowl window and add as many pieces to a talented roster as possible, they’d likely prefer the latter option.

Despite missing time with multiple injuries in each of the past two seasons, Walker has been a staple in the Packers’ base defense. With the addition and ascension of Cooper alongside him as well as the implementation of a formidable scheme under new defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, Walker’s performance saw an uptick. After the Packers’ Week 10 bye and through the next four games, Walker was third among off-ball linebackers in total pressures created, according to Pro Football Focus. He was also fifth in tackles and seventh in stops, which is defined by Pro Football Focus as “tackles that constitute a failure for the offense.”

In that same span, Walker held his own in the passing game as well. Of linebackers to see at least 15 targets into their coverage, only six players surrendered a lower passer rating than Walker’s 96.4. He’s one of eight linebackers with multiple pass break-ups. He’s a polarizing player amongst fans simply because he arguably hasn’t lived up to his first-round projection, which would be a fair assessment, but the Packers would be doing a disservice to themselves by declining his fifth-year option and refusing to sign him to an extension. Another team will be happy to employ Walker’s services.

Walker has missed seven games since playing all 17 during his rookie campaign in 2022. He’s dealt with a pair of concussions, knee, groin, ankle and shoulder injuries. After leaving in the first half of a Dec. 15 game against the Seattle Seahawks with a sprained ankle, Walker was shelved for the final three games of the regular season before returning in time for the Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Injuries haven’t forced Walker out of the lineup so often to the point that his durability is a major concern, but it’s still something the Packers will have to consider when negotiating what’s expected to be a lucrative deal.