The Packers aren't waiting around to see how this defense looks with Micah Parsons fully plugged in — they're building the interior first. Green Bay and DT Devonte Wyatt agreed to a 3-year, $57 million extension with a $20 million signing bonus, according to Jordan Schultz, locking up the 2022 first-round pick before he ever hit the open market.
Jordan Schultz broke the extension terms, crediting Wyatt's year-over-year improvement as the driver for the deal.
Wyatt was the 28th overall pick out of Georgia back in 2022, part of the Packers' run of scooping up Bulldogs off that national championship defense. Health was the question mark early on, but when he's been on the field he's produced — 10.5 sacks and 59 tackles combined across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, per NFL.com. This deal buys out the rest of his prime and keeps him in Green Bay through 2029.
The timing says everything about how the Packers see their defensive line. Wyatt was staring down the final year of his rookie contract, and instead of letting him play for a bigger payday elsewhere, Green Bay paired the extension with the addition of Javon Hargrave up front. That's now two proven interior disruptors anchoring the same unit, which matters a lot in a league where getting home without blitzing is the whole ballgame.
Schultz laid out why Green Bay views this as the foundation of its defensive identity, with Micah Parsons still to come.
The #Packers believe a healthy Devonte Wyatt, paired with new addition Javon Hargrave, gives them one of the NFL’s top interior defensive lines. Add in the eventual return of Micah Parsons, and that’s where the magic happens. 🧀🧀
That last part is the real headline underneath the headline. Parsons landing in Green Bay was the kind of move that reshapes a defense's ceiling on its own, but a superstar edge rusher only creates chaos if the guys next to him can hold up their end. A healthy Wyatt next to Hargrave means offenses can't just chip and slide protection toward Parsons all game — somebody up the middle is going to win too.
The move also fits a pattern with how aggressively Green Bay has been operating this offseason. Adam Schefter confirmed the same terms shortly after Schultz's initial report, and by the time the news cycle settled, it was clear this wasn't a speculative trial balloon — it's a done deal the front office wanted on the books before camp.
Adam Schefter followed with confirmation of the extension terms as the news spread.
More about the Packers and DT Devonte Wyatt reaching agreement on a 3-year, $57M contract extension: https://t.co/BOyyWVL0pt
None of this guarantees anything on the field — plenty of front-loaded interior lines have looked great on paper and disappointed in September. But the intent is unmistakable: Green Bay is trying to build a defense that can win up front before Parsons ever needs to bail them out, and paying Wyatt now is the clearest signal yet of how seriously they're taking that plan.