GREEN BAY, Wis. — Rashan Gary’s tenure with the Green Bay Packers is over, he announced Friday on social media, though he deleted the post soon after.
Gary, 28, was a 2019 first-round pick and the Packers’ longest-tenured player. He signed a four-year, $96 million contract during the 2023 season and had two seasons remaining on that deal. It’s unclear whether he will be released or traded, but either move would free up about $11 million in cap space this year, according to Over the Cap, as Gary’s $28 million cap number was the second-highest on the team behind quarterback Jordan Love.
In Weeks 10 through 18 last season, Gary had no sacks while 325 other players did. He didn’t register a tackle for loss in that span while 507 different players did. As the 13th-highest-paid edge rusher in the league, according to OTC, Gary also ranked 39th in pressure percentage during that period among players with at least 100 pass-rush snaps, per TruMedia. In stark contrast, Gary ranked fifth in the NFL through eight weeks with 7.5 sacks and tied for 11th with seven tackles for loss during that span before his production disappeared. He wasn’t on the injury report all season, either.
“Sixty pressures, 7.5 sacks, that’s tough to replace,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Gary at last month’s NFL combine. “So he’s on our roster, and I expect him to play at that level or higher if he’s back next year, and we’ll see how that goes.
“He was impactful towards the second half of the season, maybe not as much as he was in the first, but he was impactful. And Rashan’s got all the talent in the world, and he’s produced at a high level for us since he’s been here, and we would expect that next year, as well.”
Ultimately, it appears the Packers don’t believe Gary’s play is worth his price, even after the likes of Gutekunst, head coach Matt LaFleur and former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley defended Gary last season and this offseason. LaFleur even said Gary was never a high snap-count guy, a peculiar justification for someone making $24 million per year.
Gary’s departure would leave the Packers with an edge rusher room of Micah Parsons, who could miss the first month of next season finishing ACL rehab, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver. Kingsley Enagbare is set to hit unrestricted free agency and Brenton Cox Jr. will be a restricted free agent.