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Isaiah McDuffie #58 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates recvoering the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field on November 23, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers are gearing up to begin training camp next month. With that being said, the march towards a hopeful Super Bowl run will begin soon.
Last season, the Packers looked like a legitimate contender for most of the season. However, they were completely derailed by injury last year. By the time the playoffs arrived, Green Bay was limping along.
Heading into the 2026 NFL season, the Packers are hoping to turn things around.
Unfortunately, Micah Parsons is expected to miss at least half of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL. In his absence, many players will need to step up. Brian Gutekunst could still make more moves this offseason as well to shore up the roster.
Keeping that in mind, Green Bay has been linked to a surprising potential $8 million trade option.
Packers LB Isaiah McDuffie Named Potential Trade Candidate
Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, a longtime reporter covering the Packers, revealed three players to keep an eye on as potential trade candidates in Green Bay.
Isaiah McDuffie made the list. He has been a key part of the Packers’ linebacker room over the last four years and has been on the roster for five years.
“McDuffie, who is playing under the final year of a two-year contract extension, has a base salary of $2.4 million for the upcoming season,” Huber wrote. “Moving on would create almost $3.0 million of cap space.”
Huber provided more questions about what trading McDuffie could mean as well.
“McDuffie sat out the offseason practices due to injury. It was interesting that it was Niemann who got some first-team reps during the final day of minicamp, when it appeared the coaches were taking it easy on Franklin. Is Niemann capable of contributing on defense? Can Quinn be an instant-impact player after going undrafted?”
What Has Isaiah McDuffie Done for the Green Bay Defense?
Last season with Green Bay, the 26-year-old linebacker out of Boston College played in all 17 games. He racked up 92 total tackles to go along with a sack, an interception, and a defended pass.
Since coming into the NFL as the No. 220 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, McDuffie has played in 80 total games. He has recorded 320 total tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, an interception, and five defended passes.
At the end of the day, McDuffie is far from being an untouchable player. There could be a valuable role for him with the Packers, but trading him would not be a huge setback.
Only time will tell, but the cap savings of trading McDuffie could force Green Bay to consider the option.
Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey
