Packers still appear positioned for bold offseason move and proposed addition could realistically happen
Green Bay has an obvious issue at edge defender with star Micah Parsons set to miss the first few games of the regular season.
The Green Bay Packers tend to be patient. They have invested a lot of capital in the edge defender position over the past few years, which includes three developmental mid-round picks in the last couple of drafts — Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Usually, the Packers would wait until training camp to see how they perform before making a final determination ahead of the regular season.
And this may very well be the case in 2026. But this year has an aggravating issue: Micah Parsons is expected to miss the start of the season still recovering from his ACL injury. Without him, and after parting ways with Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare during the offseason, both the top of the group and the depth suffer.
One move left
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote about the one move each NFL team still has to make before the season. For the Packers, it’s not a surprise. Adding an edge defender should be the priority.
“Like the rival Bears, the Green Bay Packers have one dependable edge-rusher and plenty of questions opposite him. Unfortunately, star sack artist Micah Parsons is recovering from a torn ACL and might not even be available for Green Bay at the start of the regular season.
“After trading away Rashan Gary, the Packers lack depth behind Parsons. 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness hasn’t developed into a regularly productive contributor. Parsons and Gary combined for 20 of Green Bay’s 36 sacks in 2025. Adding a veteran like Miller or Bosa is a must at this point.” — Kristopher Knox
Available options
Unlike other positions, where it’s truly hard to find playable pieces at this point of the calendar, there are real edge rushers available now. Even if you don’t count older players like Von Miller and Cam Jordan, the list includes Joey Bosa, Haason Reddick, AJ Epenesa, and Jadeveon Clowney.
Based on age and projected cost, Epenesa would likely be the best option. He’s only 27, and Spotrac projects him to make around $6 million. He could realistically start while Parsons is out, then be a viable rotational piece for the rest of the season.
At this point, the Packers are set to start Brenton Cox or Barryn Sorrell opposite Lukas Van Ness. That’s certainly not the ideal scenario for the defense, and looking for alternatives on the market should be a realistic scenario — even if vested veterans on the roster in Week 1 have their base salaries fully guaranteed for the entire year.