The Green Bay Packers are going to ask a ton of Micah Parsons who is coming off an ACL tear in Week 15 of last season, rendering them a candidate for a veteran pass-rusher to give him some help.
Several analysts around the NFL agree, including Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network who pitched the Packers as a top-five fit for five-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Joey Bosa, most recently of the Buffalo Bills, on Thursday, May 7.
“Rashan Gary is no longer on the Green Bay Packers. This absence propels 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness into their starting lineup alongside All-Pro Micah Parsons,” Infante wrote. “[Van Ness has] also only combined for 8.5 sacks in his three seasons with the Packers. They drafted Dani Dennis-Sutton in Round 4, but he’s a raw technician who should be strictly in backup territory as a rookie.”
“Bosa would give Green Bay the reliable rotational piece they lack off the edge, while serving as a much-needed insurance policy for Van Ness,” he continued.
Bosa tallied 16 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss and five sacks across 15 games played in Buffalo last season. He also led the league with five forced fumbles. Spotrac projects his market value at just shy of $27.5 million over a new two-year deal.
Packers too Reliant on Micah Parsons in Current Construction of Defense
GettyEdge-rusher Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers.
Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell of ESPN also mentioned Bosa as an option for the Packers on the Wednesday, May 6 edition of “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.”
“I don’t know if there’s a more load-bearing player in the NFL right now than Micah Parsons,” Kimes said. “If he comes back and he looks like Micah Parsons, I think they’ll be OK. I still have some question marks about the corners and the defensive tackles and whatever. But they really need him to be Micah Parsons.”
“This defense really fell apart as the season went on,” Kimes continued. “Man, this is a thin group. … It’s not a good group outside of Micah Parsons.”
Packers Going to Ask More of Lukas Van Ness Than Ever Before if They Don’t Add Player Like Joey Bosa
GettyGreen Bay Packers edge-rusher Lukas Van Ness.
Barnwell noted that the defensive front has essentially swapped Kenny Clark for Javon Hargrave, which he implied is probably a downgrade based on Hargrave becoming an NFL journeyman over the past several seasons. Barnwell also mentioned that the team has yet to really replace Gary after dealing him to Dallas for a fourth-round pick and is going to ask Van Ness to take his place.
“Van Ness was sort of a secondary, tertiary piece last year. I liked it actually most when they were using him inside on passing downs and he was rushing against the interior,” Barnwell said. “And now he has to be a dude on the outside. He’s not really been that player.”
With the compensatory pick deadline now come and gone, Green Bay could get more aggressive adding an edge-rusher like Bosa to the mix because he won’t cost them one of the four comp picks they are expecting in 2027.
“There are a lot of edge guys left,” Barnwell continued. “There is Joey Bosa. … I do wonder if this is a team that, at least up front, adds a veteran edge-rusher, because they desperately need one.”
“Yeah, Bosa is an interesting one,” Kimes responded. “I could see that. That would make a lot of sense. They definitely need someone.”
Packers Named Top Suitor to Pair Micah Parsons With 5-Time Pro Bowl Edge-Rusher