GREEN BAY — Kenny Clark will be the first to admit that he had a down year in 2024.

And while the Green Bay Packers three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle finally offered a partial explanation for the downturn — a foot injury he sustained during the regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil, which plagued him all year — he also acknowledged that he didn’t play well enough, regardless.

“But, I mean, it is what it is,” Clark said as the offseason program drew to a close last month. “Football is football. I don’t complain.

“I’ve got to just keep getting better this year, and put my best foot forward.”

Clark’s inadvertent pun notwithstanding, the Packers undeniably need the version of him they’ve grown accustomed to as he enters his 10th NFL season and with his 30th birthday approaching in October.

Although Clark, despite being on the injury report most of the year, managed to start all 17 regular-season games and the team’s season-ending playoff loss to the Eagles in January, he finished the season with only 37 tackles (the second-fewest of his career), only four tackles for loss (also the second-fewest of his career) and only one sack (after recording a career-high 7.5 the previous year).

“It was a tough year for me,” said Clark, who signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension days before training camp kicked off and underwent surgery to fix his foot after the season. “It was tough.”

That’s why the Packers need him to return to form this season. Having let run-stuffing defensive tackle T.J. Slaton leave in free agency for a two-year, $15.1 million contract, the team will likely need Clark to play as much as he did last year (686 snaps, which was 63% of the defense’s 1,089 total plays) — and have a greater impact.

For his part, Clark believes he can do just that. After being limited to individual drill work during OTAs and minicamp, he said he expects full medical clearance and anticipates being on the Ray Nitschke Field grass when training camp kicks off on July 23.

“The game plan is just really just getting healthy enough to be able to train how I want to once the summer hits,” Clark said. “And hopefully when I get back, I’m full go and there’s no issues.”

About our “Most Important Packers of 2025” Series:When the Packers kick off their seventh training camp under head coach Matt LaFleur on July 23, they’ll do so with a host of players facing pivotal seasons. LaFleur clearly believes he has ample talent to be a Super Bowl contender — even if he didn’t want to say so as the offseason program came to a close — but turning that belief into reality will require many of those players to produce at higher levels than they have in the past. This series, which began in 2010 on ESPNWisconsin.com, examines each of those players and how the team’s success hinges on their contributions. The list is compiled with input from team observers, former players and NFL sources.