The Packers have a decision to make about Rashan Gary.
The 28-year-old edge rusher had 7.5 sacks this year. He had the same number of sacks last year and was a Pro Bowler. The huge difference was Micah Parsons, who regularly got doubled, chipped and even tripled.
Gary didn’t consistently take advantage of that opportunity. He had more than four tackles one time last year and that was in the season opener and he didn’t get a sack after Oct. 26.
“I do think toward the end he wasn’t as productive as he was at the beginning,” said Brewers general manager Brian Gutekunst. “Certainly, that’ll be something I’m sure he looks at personally and we look at as a team how we can make sure that his production level is the same at the beginning and end of the season.”
Granted, it took Gary a couple years to get comfortable in Green Bay’s system after getting picked 12th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. He didn’t make his first start until Sept. 27, 2020 and didn’t become a regular starter until 2021 when he tallied 9.5 sacks.
The time is now. The Packers have the pieces in place to go on a run.
So what does that mean for Gary? Well, can the Packers be patient and wait and allow Gary to live under the radar when he was drafted to be a playmaker?
Contract wise, it would make sense. If the Packers release him after June 1, his dead cap number would be $8.5 million and Green Bay would also save $19.5 million in cap savings.
A guy like New England edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson would be perfect for Green Bay. He has a huge chip on his shoulder. The 2020 first round pick had three combined sacks in his first three years in Jacksonville. Last year, he was a key cog on the Patriots defense in leading that unit to the Super Bowl.
The Packers are no longer in a place for effort that is 50 percent and that’s exactly what it looked like at times for Gary this past season. He didn’t chase the ball downfield and actually looked disinterested. Gary has been in Green Bay seven seasons and the majority of it has been ho-hum.
That just isn’t good enough for a guy that is expected to make plays. According to cap hit, Gary was the second-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL behind Maxx Crosby. Gary was higher than Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett. I know that Garrett’s record-breaking sack was silly, but he’s the best defensive player in football. Gary isn’t even in the zip code as Garrett.
These decisions are never easy, but it’s also why Bill Belichick was so successful. He knew that if you held on to a player too long, it could cost a team years to make up for that mistake.
Gary is an OK defensive player, but he isn’t being paid like he’s OK. And that’s why it’s time for the Packers to move on. Even if the Packers don’t dip their toe into free agency, there will be guys available on Day 2 of the NFL Draft like Tennesse’s Joshua Josephs or Central Florida’s Malachi Lawrence.
Gary has done everything that was asked of him, but the production just hasn’t been there. With Parsons on one side, that other side has to be able to figure it out. And unfortunately, Gary is still scratching his head.