Matt LaFleur sheds light on why a key player saw fewer snaps than his salary suggests and what it means for the Packers moving forward
Rashan Gary hasn’t been as productive as the Packers would want for a player of his upside.
Rashan Gary has never been able to play a high percentage of snaps. Last season, even fully healthy, he was on the field for just 58.68% of the defensive snaps — and this is something addressed even before Micah Parsons’ trade. But the game against the New York Giants on Sunday made that perception clearer.
Gary was on the field for just 54% of the defensive plays, being surprisingly outsnapped by Kingsley Enagbare. On Wednesday, head coach Matt LaFleur mentioned a series of factors that led to that outcome.
“That was just, I would say, a byproduct of the game,” LaFleur explained. “He’s never been a huge snap count guy, if you look at the course of his career. But yeah, just every game could unfold a little bit differently. And I think JJ [Enagbare], I think he’s been doing a heck of a job. So, I’d say that’s more of just credit to how JJ’s gone in there and done his job.”
Tough decisions to come
Moving forward, the Packers will have some big decisions to make in regards to Rashan Gary if he can’t be on the field more frequently — and can’t impact the game more. After a solid start to his season, he has regressed a little bit over the past few weeks.
He had at least four pressures in six of the first seven games of the season, but hasn’t had more than three in each of the last three ones — in this same period, he had zero sacks after starting the season with 7.5.
The edge defender is making $9 million this season, but his salary jumps to $17.25 million in 2026. Based on how the Packers structure contracts, the two plus two model, next offseason is the first realistic out for the team. Gary is too valuable and effective to be released, but a trade could be in consideration.
If the Packers trade him before June, they would have $17 million in dead money and $10.98 million in cap savings. That space plus whatever trade compensation the team gets, brings real value — especially for a team needing draft capital and extra financial flexibility after acquiring Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys.
The big detail is that Enagbare is also slated to become a free agent in 2026. The Packers have Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, and Collin Oliver under contract — Arron Mosby will be an exclusive rights free agent, so it’s also easy to keep him. All those factors will be in play, but Rashan Gary has to step up to justify his price tag.
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