March 12, 2026, 12:18 p.m. CT
GREEN BAY – For three seasons, Emanuel Wilson has been a reliable backup running back for the Green Bay Packers, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and scoring seven touchdowns.
His next carry, however, will be for someone else.
The Packers did not submit a restricted free agent tender to him, and a source said he will not re-sign as some of the team’s other restricted free agents did after not receiving tender offers.
To keep Wilson, the Packers would have had to make him a one-year, $3.52 million offer. Because he wasn’t made the offer, Wilson became a free agent March 11, able to sign with anyone in the league.
Though Wilson hasn’t finalized a deal with another team, he is expected to sign with someone other than the Packers soon.
Wilson, an undrafted free agent in 2023, played in 41 games and rushed 242 times for 1,083 yards and seven touchdowns for the Packers. He caught 30 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown.
The Packers are going to have to add to their running back room and possibly find a new backup for starter Josh Jacobs. Third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd remains a possibility, but in two years he has appeared in just one game because of injury.
Lloyd has been unable to overcome constant hamstring injuries even after visiting specialists to determine what might be causing the issues.
The Packers re-signed Chris Brooks to a two-year, $4.85 million contract, but he is considered more of a third-down back than true backup. The Packers also have two players who spent time on the practice squad, Pierre Strong and Damien Martinez.
Strong, 27, has 99 career carries but did not get any in three game-day elevations last year. Martinez, 22, was signed to the practice squad Dec. 30 and then signed to the offseason roster after the season.