Packers make calculated call on volatile option who could help immediately but carries undeniable long-term risk
Rashan Gary isn’t going anywhere.
Check any list of potential cut candidates for the Green Bay Packers, and edge rusher Rashan Gary will probably be a part of it. But, after all, it sounds like the Packers will keep him at least for one more season.
“He was impactful towards the second half of the season,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Combine. “Rashan has all the talent in the world, and he’s produced at a high level for us since he’s been here. We would expect that next year as well.”
Contract and production
Gary is a useful player, but his recent level of performance likely doesn’t justify his price tag — and that’s mostly why he was perceived as a cut candidate. The edge rusher is set to make $19.5 million in 2026, with a $28.021 million cap hit.
Theoretically, the Packers could open some cap room by restructuring him, but that would make the situation in 2027 even more complicated — he has a $22.5 million salary next season, already with a $31.021 million cap hit, which would get higher in case of a restructure this year.
In terms of production, Gary is a viable starter, but his career has been full of ups and downs. Last season, for example, he had 7.5 sacks in the first seven games of the year playing alongside Micah Parsons, but zero sacks in the final nine games — he didn’t play the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. He didn’t have any sacks against the Chicago Bears in the playoff either. Overall, Gary generated 54 pressures in 2025, more than his 47 in 2024 but well behind his career-high 81 in 2021.
And that’s the problem. When the Packers took Rashan Gary in the draft back in 2019, it was expected that he would take time to develop. After a breakout season in 2021, the expectation was high — and it kept this way when he had a strong return from a serious knee injury. However, Gary plateaued and hasn’t taken another big step forward even playing as a secondary rusher.
Why the Packers intend to keep him
A big factor for keeping Gary is Micah Parsons’ ACL injury. It’s expected that Parsons will miss around a month to start the regular season, but these types of projections are not always precise. Without Gary, the Packers would be more exposed to a lack of depth if Parsons needs more recovery time — especially because Kingsley Enagbare will hit free agency.
Outside of Parsons and Gary, the Packers’ roster has Lukas Van Ness and last year’s draft picks Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver.
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