Most people, including myself, have assumed Rashan Gary will not be a Packer in 2026.
He is coming off a disappointing season in which he did not have a sack in the final 10 games, and is set to count $28m against the cap this year on his current contract. It goes without saying he will play for Green Bay at that number, especially as the team is currently over the salary cap.
But it is not a foregone conclusion that the resolution to this issue is a release. You do not have to look too far back to see how a similar example played out.
Preston Smith had a disappointing 2020 season, which was his second year in Green Bay, putting up only 29 pressures and five sacks (using PFFs numbers which count half sacks as full ones) following a strong first season where he had 62 pressures and 15 sacks.
He was set to turn 29 during the 2021 season, but rather than releasing Smith, the Packers signed him to an extension which basically functioned as a restructure, cutting down his base salary to help ease Green Bay’s cap issues.
The deal also gave him the chance to regain the lost earnings via incentives, and Smith bounced back, racking up 63 pressures and nine sacks in 2021. He signed another extension the following season which was a reward for his efforts. It was a win-win situation.
Gary is in a similar place right now. He turns 29 at the end of the year and his stock has fallen. He knows he will not get $28m from anyone else if the Packers release him. He may be open to a solution which allows him to stay in Green Bay.
From the Packers’ side, Gary had a disappointing season by his previous standards, but it was still quite a bit better than what Smith did back in 2020 before they agreed to a restructure with him.
Gary had 60 pressures and seven sacks in 2025. His production early in the year was pretty solid. He was also a team captain so is clearly a valued member of the locker room.
Lukas Van Ness showed signs of breaking out last season, and they have young pass rushers in Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver to try to work into the mix with Micah Parsons, but retaining Gary would give them more depth and security.
The Packers have generally held three big investments at the EDGE position at one time every year since Brian Gutekunst has been the general manager, going all the way back to when they signed Preston and Za’Darius Smith and drafted Gary in the same offseason.
Perhaps the most obvious solution is the right one, and Gary ends up getting cut, but do not completely write his obituary in Green Bay yet.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres