Rashan Gary was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.
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Rashan Gary was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.
Just before the start of preliminary NFL free agency on Monday, the Dallas Cowboys surprised many by agreeing to send a fourth-round pick to the Packers for pass-rusher Rashan Gary, who had been a star for Green Bay but whose effectiveness seemed to have waned as last year went on, leading to concerns that at age 28 and with an ACL surgery in his recent past (2022), maybe his best years are behind him.
In fact, the Packers were set to release Gary, whose final two seasons, at $19.5 million and $22.5 million, are not guaranteed. The Cowboys wanted to bring Gary in, and did not want to get into a bidding war for his services, so agreed to shuttle next year’s fourth-rounder to Green Bay.
The Cowboys will need to have cap space to absorb Gary’s contract, but the good news for the team is that, with no guarantees for next year or 2027–that’s how the Packers typically structure their contracts–Dallas has plenty of leeway to redo Gary’s deal once he is officially a Cowboy.
Cowboys Will Rework Rashan Gary Contract
And, according to Cowboys beat writer Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that is the plan for the team and Gary.
Harris wrote on Twitter/X: “Expect a re-worked deal here between Dallas and Gary. No guaranteed money leaves the door open for Dallas to get him on a price that matches his current value (and even drastically decrease his ‘26 cap number).”
Again, the current number for Gary is $19.5 million and the Cowboys can cut that drastically by reworking his contract with him.
Cowboys Take Flak for Trade
The Cowboys did take plenty of flak after the Gary trade for trading away a draft asset to get a player who was going to be released anyway. But Dallas has pretty good knowledge of Gary and what he can do, as current defensive coordinator Christian Parker was with Gary when Parker was in Green Bay in 2019 and 2020.
Parker was the defensive quality control coach in Green Bay then, and Gary had been a first-round pick out of Michigan in 2019. He also worked with BT Jordan, the Cowboys’ new edge rusher coach.
Familiarity Key With Rashan Gary
According to Jane Slater of the NFL Network, that familiarity was a key for the Cowboys getting Gary and knowing he could bring more to the table than what Green Bay saw.
“They have a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker and to refresh you, he wasn’t a multiple defense, 3-4 in nature, 4-2-5 in nickel,” Slater said. “He stressed the importance of affecting the QB, stopping the run. How does Rashan Gary do that? He is a powerful guy who holds the edge well. He holds his ground, he closes the running lane and he has layed in the system before. As it was explained to me, he is a straight outside linebacker who rush inside on those passing-down packages. …
“There is a familiarity with Christian Parker, Rashan Gary was drafted while he was quality control there for two years, and then they just went and got a new pass rushing specialist, Brandon Jordan, he was working with Rashan Gary from the time he entered the draft through all of his offseasons.”