Not even Micah Parsons can say with confidence that he will be back from an ACL tear in Week 15 to start the season for the Green Bay Packers, which means the front office’s work at the edge-rusher position likely isn’t yet complete.
General manager Brian Gutekunst exercised the team’s fifth-year option on former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness on Thursday, April 30. Van Ness was going to be on the roster for the upcoming campaign regardless, but the move indicates how the Packers see/value the Iowa product in what will be a new defensive scheme under coordinator Jonathan Gannon, even despite his lack of traditional statistical production.
After Parsons and Van Ness, the room quickly thins. Given the team’s situation regarding the premier position group, Matt Okada of NFL Network suggested the addition of Haason Reddick, a former first-round pick himself (No. 13 in 2017) coming off a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025 that paid him $14 million.
“A potential solution is to put [Reddick] opposite Micah Parsons in a Green Bay defense coordinated by DC Jonathan Gannon. You know, the guy who was coordinating Philly’s unit back in 2022, when Reddick recorded a career-high 16 sacks and 76 pressures,” Okada wrote Thursday. “With Gannon on the sticks and Parsons drawing all the attention on the other edge, Reddick could be unlocked for a renaissance season, and the Packers could field one of the scarier pass rushes in the league.”
Packers Can Get Short-Term Value With Haason Reddick Signing
GettyFormer Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge-rusher Haason Reddick.
Creating among the NFL’s “scariest pass rushes” by adding Reddick is perhaps a bit of an optimistic take from Okada that heaps considerable expectation on Reddick’s shoulders.
He will play the upcoming campaign at 32 years old and strung together just six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks across 13 games least season in Tampa. He added 34 total pressures, 29 QB hurries and a forced fumble, per Pro Football Focus.
The upside of a Reddick addition in Green Bay is that situational edge-rushers have shown themselves a player type with uncommon NFL longevity. For instance, Cameron Jordan and his 10.5 sacks at age 36 last season — his highest total since 2021. Reddick is considerably younger and was a back-t0-back Pro Bowler in 2022 and 2023.
Spotrac projects Reddick’s market value at just shy of $5 million on a one-year contract, which also means minimal financial risk on the shortest possible terms of commitment. The Packers are almost certain to add a player like Reddick to the position group, and he’s as young and cheap as any of his pass-rushing peers still on the market.
As such, his connection to success with Gannon could bump Reddick to the front of the Packers’ call-sheet ahead of training camp this summer.
Micah Parsons Can’t Pinpoint Exact Return Timeline From ACL Injury
GettyGreen Bay Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons.
It will be important for Green Bay to get some more edge-rush help in the door, particularly for the start of the season, after the team traded Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick ahead of the draft.
Parsons recently spoke candidly about his potential to return for Week 1 and it didn’t oversell the certainty of that outcome.
“Man, it really just depends,” Parsons said. “I had a pretty severe injury. It just depends on how each phase goes for me.”
“But I would say, I do feel as if I’m ahead, or on track, to be there earlier in the season,” Parsons added. “It’s just hard to really pinpoint where or how each phase is going to go.”
Packers Pitched on Reuniting Gannon, $14 Million Edge Amid Parsons Uncertainty