The Packers have reportedly re-signed linebacker Isiah McDuffie to a one year extension, tying the veteran linebacker to Green Bay through the 2027 season. The one year is worth $4.8 million dollars, with around $1.5 million guaranteed, and does include a $750,000 roster bonus due if McDuffie is on the roster on the third day of the 2027 league year, which is also technically his only guaranteed money that year. 

In cap terms, the deal means that McDuffie’s cap hit in 2026 increased to $4.7 million, and will raise again to $5.1million in 2027. Upon first glance, the deal appears to be a pretty standard short term extension. In fact, the extension places him as the 43rd highest paid linebackers in the NFL, in terms of APY. It places him right in between EJ Speed of the Houston Texans and Mack WIlson of the Arizona Cardinals. 

McDuffie isn’t exactly a projected starter in Johnathan Gannon’s base 3-4 defense, and is expected to have to fend off a challenge from third year man Ty’Ron Hopper to even keep his current status. But he’s been a key piece of the Packers for years now. He’s been a key figure on the special teams, and was even named captain there last season. In fact, he played the most special teams snaps of his entire career in 2025, 324 snaps spread across every special teams group except the field goal kicking group. 

As a defensive backup last season, I thought he had a perfectly adequate performance to earn the label “quality backup”. According to PFF in fact, he was the 30th highest graded linebacker in the league last year, higher than Quay Walker ( a 65.5 grade for McDuffie to a 46.0 for Walker). 

On a per-game basis, his performance tended to fluctuate wildly. McDuffie had an extremely solid run of games in the early part of the 2025 season, from week 2 to week 9. Then later in the season, he struggled pretty mightily, and was part of a multi-faceted collapse in Chicago. I’m not pinning that entire loss on McDuffie obviously, but a huge momentum swinger in that game was McDuffie coming in for an injured Edgerrin Cooper. 

One of the ways I thought the Packers really improved the way that they were using him in the first place was a sharp decline in the amount of coverage snaps that Isiah McDuffie saw last year. From 2024 to 2025, his coverage grades per game dropped from 21 to 13. His pass rushing snaps only dropped four total snaps, and his run defense snaps dropped only slightly as well. Allowing Edgerrin Cooper to take over the majority of the coverage snaps has worked out extremely well for both players, and for the Packers at large. McDuffie’s home has been and should always continue to be in run defense. I’ve always appreciated what a steady tackler he’s been: a 7.9% missed tackle rate over the course of his career, but only 5.2% in 2025. And despite being only 12th on the team in total defensive snaps, McDuffie was still sixth on the team in tackles. 

McDuffie is the kind of player you need to have on the margins of your team in order to be a Super Bowl caliber team. Rock solid on the field, an energetic leader in the locker room, and a mentor for young players. At this point in his career, he’s been a model Green Bay Packer, and I’m glad we’ll get to see him in green and gold for another year.