Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst sounds as though he intends to tempt fate on the defensive side of the football in a bet that the Packers can hold on tight early in the year, then come on strong at the end of the season.
Superstar edge defender Micah Parsons is out for at least a month, and likely five or six games, to begin the year as he continues rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered last December. Given the depth chart in Parsons’ absence, Green Bay profiles as a perfect suitor for an outside linebacker to bolster its pass rush out of the base 3-4 scheme.
However, speaking to media on Tuesday, September 1, Gutekunst sent a clear message on the team’s situation off the edge. A reporter asked the GM if the Packers have the personnel to remain viable as a pass-rushing unit without Parsons available, to which Gutekunst offered five words in return.
“Yeah, I think we do,” Gutekunst responded, per Bill Huber of ON SI.
“I’m really excited about the group we have. We only kept four on the active [roster] but, on the practice squad, we were able to keep Nyjalik [Kelly] as well as Arron Mosby,” Gutekunst continued. “As you know, things can change, but those six guys I feel pretty good about.”
Packers Claim Pass Rush Trade Rumors Merely Fabrications
Gutekunst also made clear that the team has not engaged in any trade conversations for Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
“No one from our organization has had a conversation about Josh Sweat from anyone at Arizona,” Gutkunst said, per USA Today’s Ryan Wood. “That’s coming out of thin air. Someone is making stuff up, because that never happened.”
Sweat posted a career campaign with 12 sacks last year in the desert, where he migrated from Philadelphia to join his former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who was then the head coach of the Cardinals.
Arizona fired Gannon in the offseason, after which he made his way to the Packers as their new defensive coordinator in 2026.
Sweat has sat out of essentially all offseason work in Arizona, presumably wants out and would also presumably put Green Bay high on his list of potential destinations given Gannon’s presence there and the system he brought with him.
Packers Out on Josh Sweat Despite Strong Price Point, Obvious Fit
The Packers, who could arguably use another situational pass-rush specialist even with a healthy Parsons, seem to make a great deal of sense for Sweat. Gutekunst disagrees, however, even at a price point that includes three years remaining on a four-year deal worth $76.4 million total.
In comparison, Green Bay is paying Parsons $46.5 million annually on a new deal after trading two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys last August to acquire Parsons.
The Packers have approximately $16.3 million in cap space as of September 5, so a variety of moves to improve the pass rush are theoretically affordable enough for them to make. That said, Kelly had a strong preseason as an undrafted rookie and could be the depth answer Gutekunst is hoping will step up early in the season.
Green Bay also drafted Dani Dennis-Sutton out of Penn State in the fourth round back in April.
Packers’ 5-Word Message on Pass-Rush Plan Amid Micah Parsons’ Injury