Packers make one questionable decision that could come back to haunt them later this season
Green Bay lost the best available veteran edge rusher option as Jadeveon Clowney returned to the Houston Texans on a one-year deal.
The Green Bay Packers lost their strongest opportunity to add a veteran edge rusher when Jadeveon Clowney signed a one-year deal with the Houston Texans, the team that drafted him with the first overall pick back in 2014.
Clowney visited the Cleveland Browns late last month but ultimately chose to return to Houston, and the decision creates a potential problem for Green Bay’s pass rush depth heading into the regular season.
Why Clowney made sense for the Packers
The most complicated part for the Packers is that Clowney accepted a backup role behind Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson in Houston. That presumably means he could have accepted a similar role in Green Bay. But for the Packers, Clowney would have been more than a rotational piece.
With Micah Parsons recovering from an ACL injury, Clowney could have started early in the season alongside Lukas Van Ness. That was the appealing part of the equation. Clowney would fill the depth void during the weeks without Parsons, then transition into a backup rotational role down the stretch once Parsons returned. That entire equation is now off the table.
The Packers don’t have many alternatives left on the open market. The best possible option would probably be Joey Bosa, who is reportedly considering retirement. That’s not necessarily a reliable path forward for general manager Brian Gutekunst.
The most likely scenario now is that Green Bay rolls with the players already on the roster. Gutekunst said he is content with the group he has at this moment. Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell are expected to start early in the season, with Collin Oliver, Brenton Cox, and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton filling rotational roles.
“I’m pretty bullish on that group,” Gutekunst said at the start of camp. “I think there are enough guys in there to create some pretty good competition, and I’m excited. We’ve put some resources into that over the last couple of drafts, so we’ve got some young guys who are eager for their opportunities. I’m excited to see what they’re going to be able to do this year.”
Packers prioritize young development over veteran addition
There are a lot of moving parts for the Packers early in training camp. Some of these young players are having strong starts, but it’s early to draw firm conclusions about what the edge rotation will look like once the season begins.
“A lot of those guys did some really good things this spring, but we’re not in pads, right? So it’s always tough to evaluate those guys too much when they’re not in pads,” Gutekunst added. “As the pads come on and we get into the physical part of it, it’s about consistency, winning with bull rushes, winning with power.”
Green Bay wants to see how the young guys perform in training camp before making any final determination. And if for any reason that timeline was not fast enough for Clowney, the Packers were willing to lose a potential market option to give those young players a chance to establish themselves ahead of the regular season.
