PFF (Pro Football Focus) believes former first-round linebacker Quay Walker could be a trade candidate this upcoming offseason. According to the report, Walker might be the odd man out after the Green Bay Packers postseason. Originally selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the former Georgia product was on pace to shore up the middle of Green Bay’s defense, but injuries have stopped him from becoming his best. This is why Pro Football Focus gave him no more than a 58.5 overall grade the past three seasons.
Despite that, the linebacker remains a liability for the Packers. They’re hoping he can recover for the wild card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing the three remaining regular season games. There’s still a solid he returns but it might be too late to prove to Green Bay he’s worthy of an extension as they’ll instead trade him to a team for a new start. This season, he put up 102 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two deflections, so when he’s healthy he could make noise but that won’t matter to the Packers since they’d prefer a consistent defensive piece.
Walker is still 24 years old and has a lot of room to grow, so he could have a heavy interest this coming March. He might land a long-term extension, but rather a deal to prove to a roster he can make players be a difference maker. Here is why the Ravens, Chiefs are his next best possible destinations to revitalize his NFL career.
PFF Believes Former First Rounder Quay Walker Could Be a Trade Candidate – Ravens, Chiefs Next Possible Fits?
Shoring up Experience
While the Baltimore Ravens have one of the best offenses after acquiring running back Derrick Henry, they never attempted to improve the defense this past offseason. The pass defense has been atrocious the entire 2024 campaign which may hold them back from participating in the AFC Championship game. However, they lost several veterans like Jadeveon Clowney and Geno Stone which means the experience and balance have been a detriment to their success in stopping games leading to shootouts. The team had to rely on Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo but even though Oweh is improving, they could use another linebacker on the depth chart to assist Kyle Van Noy and Roquan Smith.
Quay Walker might be the last linebacker on their minds, but he’s a low-cost, high-risk that may work in the Ravens’ defense favor. Don’t expect him to be a full-time starter if he arrives in Baltimore but he could be an effective rotational piece to stop the critical passes on third downs. Walker could easily improve his game establishing himself in a remarkable journey to getting involved with one of the best pass rush in the league.
The New Replacement?
The Kansas City Chiefs are loading up for another Super Bowl run after winning two of them back-to-back. Patrick Mahomes and the offense are improving game-by-game after a slow start despite only losing two games this season. However, the linebacker group has been silent this entire season and trading for Josh Uche barely made any noise. Defensive tackle Chris Jones is still one of the best in the game but Uche is yet to replicate that success.
Since it will be harder to re-sign Nick Bolton this offseason, the Chiefs may have to settle for Quay Walker. The team is projected to have $20.2 million in cap space, so they can’t afford to score a big contract. It will become difficult as free agents such as Marquise Brown, Trey Smith and DeAndre Hopkins will hit the market. However, trading for Walker shouldn’t be an issue since he’ll likely come at a cheap cost.
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