Favorite, Least Favorite Moves by Packers in Free Agency

Pro Football Focus picked its favorite and least favorite transactions in free agency. It nailed both selections for the Green Bay Packers.

Its favorite move – and our favorite – was signing cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.

“St-Juste is coming off a career year with the Chargers,” PFF’s Zoltán Buday wrote. “Although he handled a limited role, with his 356 snaps representing his fewest since his rookie campaign, he earned a career-high 77.1 PFF coverage grade and gave up an excellent 64.8 passer rating.”

Along with signing St-Juste, the Packers dumped Nate Hobbs. Last year, Hobbs signed a surprisingly big contract of four years and $48 million. That $12.0 million average would be tied for 27th among cornerbacks in 2026.

St-Juste’s two-year, $10 million contract averages $5.0 million per season, which ranks 48th.

Based on how St-Juste played last season, his lone campaign with the Chargers, the Packers are getting a better cornerback at a fraction of the price.

Big Upgrade at Cornerback

St-Juste will challenge Carrington Valentine (and perhaps a draft pick) for the starting job opposite Keisean Nixon.

According to Pro Football Focus, St-Juste:

• Allowed a 50.0 percent catch rate last season. Of the 97 cornerbacks who played at least his number of coverage snaps last season (245), he ranked ninth in completion percentage allowed and tied for 32nd with 10.8 yards allowed per catch.

• Gave up one touchdown and intercepted one pass. Combined with the excellent completion percentage, he was charged with a passer rating of only 64.0. That not only ranked sixth in the league but was much better than that of Nixon (105.2), Valentine (109.4) and Hobbs (125.3), who were all 74th or worse.

• Missed one tackle, or 3.3 percent. Only New England’s Christian Gonzalez was better. For comparison, Nixon was sixth and Valentine was 96th.

At 6-foot-3 and with his physicality, St-Juste will provide some of what the Packers lacked the past couple seasons. Now, the question is whether he can make more plays and play with greater consistency. 

In 70 career games with 47 starts, St-Juste has only two interceptions. With the Commanders in 2024, St-Juste was 49th in completion percentage (63.6), 74th in yards per completion allowed (13.0) and 85th in passer rating (107.0). In four seasons with Washington, he allowed 13 touchdowns and intercepted one pass, good for passer ratings of 114.5 as a rookie, 97.9 in 2022, 102.9 in 2023 and 107.0 in 2024.

If how he played for the Chargers is a sign of things to come, the Packers will have a season-changing bargain in the secondary.

Risky Business With Sean Rhyan

On the other hand, PFF picked the re-signing of center Sean Rhyan as its least-favorite move.

The contract he was given was rather shocking, with Rhyan inking a three-year, $33 million extension just before the start of free agency. The $11 million average ranks seventh among NFL centers behind.

• The Raiders’ Tyler Linderbaum ($27.0 million), a Pro Bowler each of the last three seasons with the Ravens. He signed a record contract with Las Vegas in free agency.

• The Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey ($18.0 million), a first- or second-team All-Pro three of the last four seasons.

• The Eagles’ Cam Jurgens ($17.0 million), a Pro Bowler each of the last two seasons.

• The Bills’ Connor McGovern ($13.1 million), a Pro Bowler in 2024.

• The Broncos’ Luke Wattenberg ($12.0 million), a 28-game starter the last two seasons who didn’t allow a sack in 2025.

• The Saints’ Erik McCoy ($12.0 million), a Pro Bowler in 2023 and 2024.

Rhyan, on the other hand, ranks seventh among centers in average salary even while starting seven regular-season games at the position.

The Packers are betting entirely on potential. Oddly, they didn’t like him enough to keep him in the starting lineup at guard, but they apparently love him enough to make him one of the highest-paid players at the position.

Based on what?

Starting with the Week 10 game against the Eagles in which Rhyan replaced Elgton Jenkins, Rhyan was one of 34 centers to play 150 pass-protecting snaps during the second half of the season. Rhyan ranked 31st in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which counts sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-protecting snap.

The Packers are betting on year-to-year growth. Although most of his preseason action in 2024 and 2025 came at center, most of his reps at training camp were at guard. That means he was thrown into the fire without getting a chance to really sink his teeth into the details. He’ll have that opportunity when OTAs begin in May.

The Packers are making a $14.0 million gamble – that’s Rhyan’s combined signing bonus, workout bonus, base salary and per-game roster bonuses that he’s scheduled to collect in 2026 – that he will improve in all the nuances of the position while continuing to lend his power in the run game.

It’s risky business, to be sure. Rhyan is a good player, and nitpicking the signing isn’t about him so much as it’s a lot of money for a player with a limited resume. He is a talented enough player to be a real asset in the middle of the remodeled offensive line.

Reaching that potential will be enormously important in terms of dollars and cents and wins and losses.