The Green Bay Packers are suddenly 2-5 this season and staring at a likely first-round pick in 2024. Many expected the Packers to be “buyers” at this year’s trade deadline, but that may not be the case.
On the defensive side of the ball, one All-Pro has supposedly piqued the curiosity of a Super Bowl contender this year. It will be fascinating to see whether the Packers would make this sort of move in order to get as many draft selections as possible in the future.
Even after acquiring Kevin Byard from the Tennessee Titans, the Philadelphia Eagles may not be done before the trade deadline. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, general manager Howie Roseman is considering off-ball linebacker possibilities. It is conceivable to reach an agreement with the Green Bay Packers. According to a recent report:
The Packers are 2-5, and their youth movement might be emphasized before the trade deadline. If Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst wants to take his rebuilding strategy a step further, dealing experienced components would be a wise move. And, given the Packers’ first-round selection of off-ball linebacker Quay Walker last year, moving an older player from the same position makes sense.
Campbell is unlikely to be as good as he was in 2021, when he had a career year, earning his best PFF grade of 84.7 and making the All-Pro first team. He is, nonetheless, a dependable linebacker. His PFF grades for the previous two years are 75.6 in 2022 and 73.9 through seven games this season.
All of those figures are higher than he had with the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals before to joining the Packers. They are also better than Zach Cunningham and Nakobe Dean – in 2023, Nicholas Morrow was the Eagles’ best off-ball linebacker.
The Packers chose to reward Campbell with a five-year extension after the 2021 season, keeping him under contract until 2026. However, if the Eagles choose to pursue the trade, it is rather inexpensive.
This is an intriguing name to bring up. Trading a 30-year-old linebacker for a young phenom like Quay Walker may be a viable alternative. Obviously, it would be contingent on draft compensation, but there is little denying that Campbell’s play has deteriorated since his All-Pro season in 2021.
Campbell has had a rather strong 2023 season thus far, totaling 36 tackles in seven games. It would be greatly dependent on what the front staff decides to do with the team’s future. While the immediate future may not appear promising in terms of Super Bowl (much alone playoff) competitiveness, if this team feels it can be in the mix in 2024 or even 2025, keeping a veteran like Campbell around makes sense.
