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Toronto FC bolstered its defensive line on Friday by signing free agent center back Walker Zimmerman, a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, for the 2027-28 MLS season.
The 32-year-old US international spent 13 years in Major League Soccer with Dallas, Los Angeles and most recently Nashville. Along the way, he has become a five-time MLS Best XI honoree, a four-time MLS All-Star and a two-time MLS Defender of the Year (2020 and '21).
The Lawrenceville, Georgia native won 45 caps for Team USA and was an American captain.
With Toronto having declined 2026 contract options with veteran defensemen Kevin Long, Raul Petretta and Sigurd Rosted, experience was needed in the back line along with 19-year-old Lazar Stefanovi, 22-year-old Zane Monlouis and 23-year-old Niksoen Gomis.
Veteran goalkeeper Sean Johnson also left, signing as a free agent with D.C. United after Toronto decided not to exercise his 2026 contract.
Zimmerman's signing follows Toronto's acquisition of Brazilian left-back Matheus Pereira from Portuguese club Santa Clara. TFC have signed the 25-year-old for the 2027/28 MLS season with a club option for the 2028/29 season.
Toronto (6-14-14) was eliminated from the playoffs for the fifth straight season in 2025. But its defense has improved under first-year head coach Robin Fraser, himself a former two-time MLS Defender of the Year.
TFC ranked seventh in the league in defense, conceding an average of 1.29 goals per game.
General manager Jason Hernandez continues his search for a power forward, and Toronto ranked 27th in offense last season, averaging 1.9 goals per game.
“A Key Piece of the Puzzle”
Zimmerman is arguably TFC's biggest defensive signing since Drew Moore arrived from the Colorado Rapids in December 2015 and became the club's first MLS free agent signing. Then-grandmaster Tim Bezbatchenko called Moore “a key piece of the puzzle.”
With Moore as a defenseman, Toronto's goal totals dropped from a league-worst 58 in 2015 to 39 in 2016. TFC reached the MLS Cup final but lost to the Seattle Sounders in a penalty shootout. Toronto and Seattle met again in the 2017 championship game, with Toronto winning 2–0.
Moore started in both finals. But he didn't dress for the 2019 championship game in Seattle (a 3-1 loss to the Sounders), sat out the 18th round when forward Jozy Altidore returned from a quad injury, and returned to Colorado after the 2019 season.
Zimmerman, who has played 307 MLS regular season and playoff games, has led Nashville FC since the 2020 expansion season. In six seasons with Nashville, he played 172 games in all competitions, scoring 16 goals.
He appeared in 21 league games, including 16 as a starter, in a 2025 campaign cut short by concussion and a knee injury.
He won't come cheap, according to the MLS Players Association: He earned $3,456,979 as a designated player last season.
Zimmerman will not be the DP in Toronto, which instead used earmarks to sign him. TAM can be used to buy out the salary cap amount of a player whose salary exceeds the maximum budgeted salary amount, which was $743,750 in 2025.
“Toronto has a rich history of success in MLS,” Zimmerman said. “When the opportunity came to represent this club and city, it was an easy decision and I can’t wait to compete alongside my new teammates and perform in front of some of the best fans in the league as we chase trophies together.”
FC Dallas took Zimmerman in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft out of Furman University.
In December 2017, Dallas traded him to expansion Los Angeles for $250,000 in total cap space and $250,000 in cap space. The teams also swapped places in the seeding order, with Dallas taking first place in LAFC and LAFC falling to 11th.
LAFC traded Zimmerman to Nashville in February 2020 in a deal worth up to $1.1 million in total payments plus a spot on the 2020 international roster.
Zimmerman helped FC Dallas capture the MLS Fans' title and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup title in 2016.
