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Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie opts to stay in Green Bay rather than testing free agency

Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie is staying with the Green Bay Packers. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced Monday that the team had re-signed McDuffie, who has spent his entire NFL career in Green Bay.
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FILE - Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58) goes into the locker room with his team after warm-ups before an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)

Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie is staying with the Green Bay Packers.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced Monday that the team had re-signed McDuffie, who has spent his entire NFL career in Green Bay. Terms weren't announced, but a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press it's a two-year, $8 million deal.

ESPN first reported that McDuffie and the Packers had agreed to terms.

McDuffie was due to become an unrestricted free agent if he hadn’t reached a deal with the Packers, who selected him out of Boston College in the sixth round of the 2021 draft.

McDuffie, 25, started all 17 games for the Packers this past season and ranked second on the team with a career-high 97 tackles. He also had three tackles for loss, three passes defensed and a forced fumble.

He also started the Packers' 22-10 NFC wild-card playoff loss at Philadelphia and had six tackles and half a sack in that game.

McDuffie played more than 64% of the Packers’ defensive snaps and more than 28% of their special teams snaps. His playing time dipped late in the season, in part to the emergence of rookie second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper.

McDuffie started eight games and made 86 tackles in 2023. His first career start came in 2022.

The Packers still have one more pending free agent linebacker in Eric Wilson, who started 12 games and had 72 tackles (seven for loss), two sacks, a forced fumble and an interception last season. Wilson, 30, played on just over half of the Packers’ defensive snaps and nearly three-quarters of their special teams snaps last season.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press