It's vacation time for the players all around the NFL. But the game never stops, especially when we are talking about roster-building strategies and outcomes. While the Green Bay Packers have finished up the offseason program and training camp is five weeks away, the front office has time to figure out their next steps and how they can make this team better — now and/or in the future.

In terms of extensions, it has been a pretty uneventful offseason for the Packers. Yes, they re-signed guys like Isaiah McDuffie and Brandon McManus who were set to hit free agency, but there hasn't been any contract extensions from players already locked in — except for exercising the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.

Green Bay frequently tries to be ahead of the curve to sign impactful players before they hit the market, so the roster has some extension candidates that could reach new deals before Week 1.

RT Zach Tom

This is the obvious answer. Tom is and should be the top priority to receive a new contract, and the more the Packers wait, the more expensive it will be. Spotrac projects that Tom will get a four-year, $86.712 million extension ($21.7 million per year), and that might even be too low considering how the market has gone for young tackles.

Tom is not necessarily a bona fide star, but there is a solid argument he was the third best right tackle in football last year after Penei Sewell and Lane Johnson, and he's certainly the most productive offensive lineman the Packers have. If they were willing to pay Aaron Banks $17 million a year, you can see where things will go with Tom.

And even though Tom theoretically offers positional versatility, the Packers don't plan to move him inside. Tackle is the more valuable spot, both for him and for the team.

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LB Quay Walker

The Packers didn't exercise Walker's fifth-year option, but that doesn't mean they don't want to keep him around. Probably, the opposite is true. The option would have been too expensive because it is calculated including edge defenders listed as outside linebackers, so the Packers declined it with an extension in mind.

"The linebacker for the fifth-year option is a little wonky because there's so many edge guys that are part of that, which drives up that number, which probably isn't great,” general manager Brian Gutekunst told media members at the NFL Combine. "But yeah, we'd like to find a way to keep Quay around here long-term, whether that be an extension or something."

The problem here is that Walker has never played like an elite linebacker, or anything close to it. Meanwhile, the Packers have a more promising player in Edgerrin Cooper and has given Isaiah McDuffie a two-year deal.

Fred Warner signed this offseason the biggest LB contract at $21 million per year, but even a mid-level player like New York Jets' Jamien Sherwood got $15 million per year. Ideally, the Packers would be able to sign Walker paying him at most the $13.6 million that Patrick Queen got from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that might already feel rich based on his NFL production.

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WR Christian Watson

Watson is a complicated case because of his injury, so any extension talks will probably be more realistic during the season after he is healthy, or simply after the season. There are also complicating factors because Watson's numbers are not that good, even though he is a talented receiver with a skill set that changes the complexity of the offense when he's on the field and playing at his best.

The Baltimore Ravens just signed Rashod Bateman to a three-year, $36.75 million deal that may serve as a floor for Watson at $12.5 million yearly. Now, though, the Packers look more ready to move on if necessary after drafting Matthew Golden and Savion Williams.

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QB Malik Willis

The Packers acquired Willis for a seventh-round pick last year, and he was everything you could hope for in a backup quarterback. Positive locker room presence, helpful for Jordan Love, and excellent when he had to play for a few games. Now, the third-round pick in 2022 is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

This is hard to pull off because maybe Willis just wants to finish out his deal and reach free agency to get a chance from being a real starter, or at least to compete for a starting job.

The Packers can't offer him that possibility, but they'd probably be happy to pay him close to the top of the backup QB market.

Excluding Deshaun Watson and Kirk Cousins, who weren't signed to be backups, and even Daniel Jones who was added to compete for the starting job in Indianapolis, the highest-paid backup quarterback is Marcus Mariota. The former second overall pick is making $8 million a year on the Washington Commanders. After that, there's Jacoby Brissett making $6.25 million for the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins' Zach Wilson, Denver Broncos' Jarrett Stidham, and New York Jets' Tyrod Taylor at $6 million.

So this is the floor. The Packers have to evaluate if that possibility makes sense, or if they just wait and see how this season will transpire to make a better-informed decision a year from now. At worst, the Packers will likely get a future compensatory pick for losing him in free agency.

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C Elgton Jenkins

Jenkins is here because he wants an extension, skipped OTAs, and held in mandatory minicamp to get a more favorable deal. But it doesn’t mean the Packers will want to give him an extension. Centers are less valuable than guards, so his contract is pretty fair based on his new position.

The problem is that Jenkins wants more security, since there are no guarantees left on it, and his salary spikes from $12.5 million in 2025 to $20 million 2026, making him a potential cut candidate next offseason if things don’t go well.

The Packers don’t generally give extensions for non-quarterbacks with more than a year left on their deals, so the most reasonable path here involves some type of adjustment, giving Jenkins guarantees in 2025 and maybe a roster bonus with an earlier trigger date in 2026. In this case, the Packers would have to make a quicker decision, allowing the player to hit free agency if the team doesn’t want to pay his full salary.

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Honorable mention:

P Daniel Whelan

This may be an easy one because Whelan is slated to be a restricted free agent next offseason, so the Packers have a decent leverage here. Right now, there are 10 punters making something between $2.8 million and $3.6 million per year, which is probably the range for Whelan considering his average or slightly above average production for NFL standards. With a more comfortable cap situation after releasing Jaire Alexander, it's something the Packers can do right now, even though they would probably be able to accomplish after the season without risk of losing Whelan as well.

Other realistic possibilities: WR Romeo Doubs, LT Rasheed Walker, RG Sean Rhyan, EDGE Kingsley Enagbare.

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