GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ defensive tackles have done the dirty work to help power a defense that’s played like a top-10 unit for most of the season.

“They’re doing their job,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday, a couple days before a big showdown against the defending AFC champion New England Patriots. “There’s a lot of selfless play that goes into playing good team defense depending upon what the calls may be. Sometimes, they just have to eat up blockers and they’re doing their job.”

They’ve done their job, even while injuries have chipped away at the unit. Javon Hargrave is out for the season with a torn Achilles, and Warren Brinson and Jonathan Ford are on injured reserve, as well. The return of Jordon Riley has been important, but the Packers are short on depth at an important position group.

Could they find help at the NFL trade deadline? Here are seven candidates.

Moro Ojomo, Eagles

Moro Ojomo was a seventh-round steal by the Eagles in 2023 who is going to get paid when he hits free agency at the end of the season. The 25-year-old had six sacks last season. He doesn’t have any in eight games (three starts) this year but does have three tackles for losses.

Of 89 defensive tackles who have played at least 100 pass-rushing snaps, he is 33rd in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

Whatever trade compensation the Packers would give up, they could recoup some of it via a compensatory draft pick if he’s not re-signed.

Christian Barmore, Patriots

Christian Barmore was a second-round pick by the Patriots in 2021. The 27-year-old had a breakout third season with 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for losses. However, he missed most of the 2024 season so has only 6.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses in 28 games the past three seasons.

He does have 3.5 sacks and three tackles for losses in seven games this year. Of 89 defensive tackles who have played at least 100 pass-rushing snaps, he is 10th in pass-rush win rate.

While the Patriots are contenders, SI.com’s Albert Breer said Barmore is available and might be had for a fourth-round pick. The Packers will get an up-close look on Sunday.

The finances could be tricky; Barmore has base salaries of $12 million in 2026 (the Packers would have to pay $6.6 million if it if the trade happened today), $18 million in 2027 and $19 million in 2028. There is no guaranteed money remaining, though, so the acquiring team could make Barmore a half-year rental, though that wouldn’t be ideal.

Zach Sieler, Dolphins

Zach Sieler had back-to-back seasons of 10 sacks in 2023 and 2024 and reached double-figures tackles for losses the last three seasons. This year, the 31-year-old has only two sacks – both against Minnesota in Week 4 – but he does have six TFLs.

He is 53rd in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF.

Sieler is playing under a three-year, $64 million contract extension. He’s got a minimum base salary for 2026, so would count for next to nothing on this year’s cap, but the salary soars to $12.655 million in 2027, $15.465 million in 2028 and $16.215 million in 2029. According to Spotrac, $10 million of his 2027 base salary is guaranteed if on the roster on the third day of the league-year.

The Dolphins have publicly said he’s not available – the finances would make it tough for them – but perhaps the relationship between Packers GM Brian Gutekunst and his counterpart, Jon-Eric Sullivan, would change that reality.

Grover Stewart, Colts

Grover Stewart was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round in 2017. He’s been an ironman Other than playing in only 11 games in 2023, he has missed only two games in his career. He’s not much of a pass rusher with 13.5 career sacks but he’s a volume tackler.

He had 74 tackles, including 10 for losses, in 2024. He’s on pace for a third consecutive season of 55-plus tackles. He is 82nd in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF, but that’s not what he’s paid to do.

Stewart, 33, is playing the final season of a three-year, $39 million contract. If the trade were to be made today, he’d count about $6.1 million on Green Bay’s cap for the remainder of the season.

Bobby Brown III, Panthers

A fourth-round pick by the Rams in 2021, Brown has only one sack and 12 tackles for losses in his career. The 330-pounder played in every game the past two seasons but has missed two this year, including Thursday’s game against the Packers.

Brown signed a three-year, $21 million contract in free agency in 2025. He would count about $3.0 million on this year’s cap. He has a base salary of $7.35 million for 2027 with a cap charge of $8.0 million.

Roy Lopez, Cardinals

Roy Lopez was drafted by Houston in 2021 but played the 2023 and 2024 seasons under Jonathan Gannon with the Cardinals. After playing for the Lions in 2025, he returned to Arizona in 2026. His head coach is Mike LaFleur. So, those would be two key references.

The 29-year-old started 16 games for the Cardinals in 2024 and has started every game for them in 2026. He is on pace to set career highs in tackles and tackles for losses. He ranks 73rd in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF, but he is an excellent run defender.

Lopez rejoined the Cardinals with a two-year, $10.5 million contract. The cap hit for this season would be negligible.

Calais Campbell, Ravens

Father Time eventually tackles every player. Calais Campbell, who turned 40 just before the season, signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Ravens in free agency. It’s been a long time since he turned in the last of his six Pro Bowl seasons. Plus, for the first time since his rookie season in 2008, he’s been mostly a backup. He has one sack and two tackles for losses, and ranks 46th in pass-rush win rate, according to PFF.

Still, after recording 5.5 sacks for the Ravens in 2022, 6.5 for the Falcons in 2023, five for the Dolphins in 2024 and 6.5 with Gannon and the Cardinals in 2025, there has to be some production left in the future Hall of Famer.

“Fantastic. Better than I ever could have thought honestly,” Gannon said late last season of coaching Campbell. “Obviously, played really well this year. Captain, leadership, pro’s-pro. Energy, juice all the time. I learned a lot from him. It's been awesome. …

“He’s been in a lot of places, he's had a lot of success. Everything from defensive line play to how we structure a team meeting to the schedule to everything. He's been around the block, and he's a really good resource because of how long he's been doing it.”

The cap hit for Green Bay if he joined the team today would be about $2.1 million.

It's been a long time since the Packers were buyers at the trade deadline (which I got into with a Jeopardy-style start to this story). One look at the NFC standings shows why that must change before Tuesday. ⬇️https://t.co/idieTuG4AL

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 6, 2026