The Green Bay Packers have likely seen one of their highest-paid defenders play his final snap for them following their season-ending loss to the Chicago Bears.
With the Packers shifting gears for the 2026 offseason, expectations have begun to grow about the future of veteran defensive and former first-round pick Rashan Gary, who had a rough finish to 2025 and will cost roughly $28 million against the cap in 2026.
Specifically, multiple Packers analysts have flagged Gary as a potential cut candidate for the team in 2026, with most agreeing that a standard release is the most likely outcome.
For instance, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman floated the possibility of Gary’s release in 2026 last week, writing that you “wouldn’t blame the Packers for cutting him loose” due to his dropoff in production and career-long inability to play extended snap counts.
Packers cap guru Ken Ingalls also essentially bid Gary farewell in his recent evaluation of the team’s salary-cap situation in 2026. According to Over the Cap, they would save about $11 million by releasing Gary outright or $19.5 million with a post-June 1 cut.
If the Packers decide against the latter, Gary’s release could come in a matter of weeks.
“Maybe they’ll hang on and try to trade Gary or do a post-June 1 release designation, but that severely limits their ability to have money freed up at the beginning of free agency,” Ingalls wrote on January 12. “For now, I’m assuming a straight release with a small possibility of a massive pay cut to stick around.”
Rashan Gary Steeply Dropped Off After Hot Start to 2025
Gary broke out with 9.5 sacks for the Packers during his first season as an every-game starter for their defense in 2021 and signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension with them less than two years later in the midst of the 2023 regular season. He went on to lead the Packers in sacks (nine) and pressures (60) while playing in all 17 games.
Since the first season of his $96 million deal, though, Gary has gradually declined as a pass rusher for the Packers. He earned his first career Pro Bowl selection during his efficient 2024 campaign, but his sacks (7.5) and pressures (47) dropped from 2023.
Gary also had a rough final two months to the 2025 season after gaining an elite-level teammate on the opposite side of the defensive line in four-time All-Pro Micah Parsons. He recorded 7.5 sacks over the Packers’ first seven games, but he closed out the season on an 11-game streak without a sack or tackle for loss when the team needed him most.
While the season-ending injuries to Devonte Wyatt (Week 13) and Parsons (Week 15) certainly didn’t help, Gary’s 2025 performance hardly justifies $24 million annually. It does not help either that Gary has never played more than 700 defensive snaps in any one of his seven career seasons and played at least 70% of snaps just thrice in 2025.
Micah Parsons Gives Packers New Cornerstone Piece
While Gary had good production in past seasons for the Packers and became one of the first-round success stories under general manager Brian Gutekunst, he is no longer the cornerstone piece on their defensive line. That distinction belongs to Micah Parsons.
The Packers went all-in with a blockbuster trade for Parsons before the 2025 season, giving up two first-round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark to acquire him from the Dallas Cowboys and quickly extending him on a four-year, $186 million deal.
Parsons had also lived up to the high trade cost before tearing his ACL in Week 15’s loss to the Denver Broncos. He recorded 12.5 sacks, 26 quarterback hits, 79 pressures and two forced fumbles in 14 games, earning him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors.
When you have an elite edge rusher produced the way Parsons has, you quickly run out of patience for your other highly-paid edge rusher when his latest season disappoints.
The Packers could still bring Gary back in 2026, but it would take him agreeing to take a major pay cut for the cap numbers to make sense — and that’s assuming that the team still believes in the 28-year-old pass rusher’s upside and actually wants him to return.
Packers Expected to Cut Ties With $96 Million Starter in Coming Weeks