Browns free agency: Immediate LB help if the Browns act quickly

Dec 27, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (7) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns could provide their vaunted #4 defense with another tackling machine, but only if they act hurriedly. The Green Bay Packers are allowing one of their top tacklers to move on. Quay Walker is now a free agent.

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Walker is the Packers' green dot and team captain. They didn't exercise the fifth-year option on the young LB, and so now he is free to sign with any team he chooses as of March 4th.

That should be Cleveland.

Just 25 years old, Walker had a career high of 128 total tackles this past season. His four-year totals since coming into the league in 2022 are: 121 tackles (2022), 118 (2023), 102 (2024), and 128.

Pair Walker with rookie LB Carson Schwesinger, then draft LB Jacob Rodriquez of Texas Tech in Round 3 or bring back LB Devin Bush, and suddenly, three tackling machines will all reside in the Browns' second level. The Browns on Wednesday tendered LB Winston Reid.

BREAKING: The Packers are preparing for team captain LB Quay Walker to depart in free agency, per Tom Silverstein.

The Packers reportedly gauged the linebacker market during the scouting combine with the assumption that Walker won't return. pic.twitter.com/PS89lbWUyG

- Football Forever (@fballforeverhq) March 4, 2026

For starters, Walker is a first-round draft pick taken by the Packers in the 2022 NFL draft at position #22. He played college ball at Georgia and is part of the 2021 National Championship team. This means newly-minted head coach Todd Monken was the Georgia OC that year, so already there is familiarity.

Walker had an immediate impact with the Green Bay defense, netting double-digit tackle numbers as a rookie linebacker. Sound familiar with what Schwesinger did this year? Walker was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. Plus, he runs a 4.52.

He is set to become a free agent on March 11 at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern). Why the Packers are allowing him to go free because they expect his second contract to be more than they want to spend on a linebacker, despite him posting impressive numbers year-in and year-out.

As a rookie, he inked a four-year $13.84 million deal. Now, the expectation is for Walker to garner a three-year, $25 million contract in free agency.NFL teams are devaluing off-ball defenders, which is why his eval is on the cheaper side. Walker should expect his third contract to be a monster if he continues to produce as he has. He is still young and has had consistent production in every season.

Walker has struggled a bit with being durable. He has missed just 10 games in four years. In 2023, he suffered a concussion, and this past season, he injured his neck with a Grade-1 cervical neck stinger and missed one game.

ESPN gave this description of Walker:

Walker's explosive traits create playmaking upside; he can cover ground as a run-and-hit defender. Plus, he diagnosed the run game at a quicker rate in 2025, averaging 4.9 tackles on designed rushes per game (11th highest). Overall, Walker had 2.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and 4 pass breakups."

The knock on Walker is that while he is a beast against the run, he is a below-average pass defender. He may have had four pass breakups, but he also gave three touchdowns and a 78.5% completion percentage.

Walker has elite straight-line speed and can rush the passer when sent as an interior blitzer. He only missed three tackles in three seasons in college and five in 2025. Very strong and powerful. He has mastered the ability to take excellent angles to the ball carrier and has very good lateral speed. And he plays fast.

He will need some coverage tutelage if he ends up in Cleveland, and at times, is a bit too aggressive moving towards the runner. But Walker shows an impressive short-area burst.