The Green Bay Packers approach training camp in an interesting position, with perhaps their top trade candidate also a strong contender to end up the exact opposite as a defensive starter come Week 1.
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated examined the team’s three most likely trade chips on Thursday, June 25, landing on cornerback Carrington Valentine as one of the names.
“Valentine will be a free agent after the season. Under the NFL’s proven-performance escalator, his base salary almost tripled to $3.674 million,” Huber wrote. “Moving on would take that amount of money off the salary cap. Cornerback is a premium position, so the Packers could get decent value for a player who might be replaced by one of the newcomers.”
Brandon Cisse Failed to Claim Starting CB Job During OTAs
GettyCornerback Brandon Cisse of the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay drafted CB Brandon Cisse with its first pick in April, which came at No. 52 in the second round. The Packers also signed Benjamin St-Juste to a two-year, $10 million contract in free agency following a one-season stint with the Los Angeles Chargers after he played his first four NFL campaigns for the Washington Commanders.
However, the learning curve for Cisse and an injury to St-Juste kept Valentine and Keisan Nixon in the top two roles at the position throughout the overwhelming majority of OTAs. That should mean Valentine and Nixon enter training camp in late July as the two starters, with Cisse and St-Juste facing the prospect of wrestling one of the top spots away from either of those occupants.
Valentine, a seventh-round pick in 2023, started 11 games last season. He has appeared in 49 of a possible 51 regular-season contests for the Packers since joining the team, starting 30 times. Valentine finished the 2025 campaign with 31 tackles and four pass breakups. He has tallied 18 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two interceptions over the course of his career.
St-Juste has played in 70 games across his five-year professional tenure, making 47 starts along the way.
Packers Could Potentially Trade Carrington Valentine to Lions After Terrion Arnold Arrest
GettyDetroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold..
Huber noted the two greatest questions facing the Packers with regards to a trade involving Valentine are whether they have a viable replacement ready to go Week 1, and if the draft pick the team would get in return is better than the compensatory selection the league is likely to send in 2027 if Green Bay lets Valentine depart via free agency next spring.
“Would the trade compensation be better than the compensatory pick? And would the Packers dare get rid of a proven player at such a critical position? That would hinge on the play of St-Juste and the development of Cisse and [Domani] Jackson,” Huber continued. “If the Packers feel good about, for sake of example, Keisean Nixon and St-Juste starting with Cisse the next man up, a trade would make a lot of sense.”
One team that might be looking for a new option at CB soon is the Detroit Lions, after police in Florida arrested Terrion Arnold on multiple felony charges Wednesday linked to an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping plot.
Packers’ 30-Game Starter Named Top Trade Candidate