The Green Bay Packers‘ edge-rusher room could still use a little more juice. While they wait for Micah Parsons to return from an injury, there are a few well-known veterans who could step up for the time being. Bill Huber of Packers OnSI noted that the room behind Parsons is not strong enough, and they need to find an added veteran in free agency.
“Lukas Van Ness, who has 8.5 sacks in three seasons, and Barryn Sorrell, who had 1.5 sacks as a rookie, will start,” wrote Huber. “Brenton Cox, who has five sacks in three seasons, and Dani Dennis-Sutton, a rookie, will be the backups. Combined, those four players have 15 sacks in the NFL. They had four last season – 1.5 for Van Ness and Sorrell and one for Cox.”
As Huber notes, there are still some legitimate veteran names available. He brings up three players who were high-end options in their prime. Now, they would be helpful additions.
“Joey Bosa (who is contemplating retirement but had five sacks last year for the Bills), Haason Reddick (who starred under Jonathan Gannon) or Leonard Floyd (who had 3.5 sacks last year for Atlanta but at least 8.5 in each of the previous five seasons) couldn’t help,” wrote Huber.
Green Bay Packers Must Add a New Edge Rusher
Bosa is contemplating retirement, but is coming off of a solid season with the Buffalo Bills. He had five sacks in two straight seasons, but went from 34 pressures to 47, showing he still has some juice.
Reddick spent time with Gannon on the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, and Reddick had 16 sacks with him. However, after an 11-sack season in 2023, he has had 3.5 sacks in the two seasons since then. He only suited up for ten games with the New York Jets and then 13 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. The hope is that he can find new life with his old coordinator.
Floyd is entering his 11th season and will be 34 years old this year. So, he will only help in short spurts. Still, despite 3.5 sacks in 2025, he has had 19 in the two seasons combined since then.
All of these rushers bring more production than what the Packers currently have on the roster.
Why the Packers Might Not Add a Rusher
Huber questions why the team will not add a more proven rusher. However, the team tends to believe in patience and betting on their development. Van Ness has not done enough as a former first-round pick.
However, Green Bay invested in his talent, and they are projecting his development. Barryn Sorrell is also a former draft pick. He is entering his second year, and the team is projecting another step for him.
Both Colin Oliver and Dani Dennis-Sutton are expected to be rotational edge rushers. They are both former draft picks as well. Dennis-Sutton is a rookie.
So, Green Bay could certainly use the help. However, if they expect their draft picks to develop more than their production shows on paper, they are likely to value what they have internally more than the outside voices.
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