The Green Bay Packers could use some help at edge rusher as they wait for Micah Parsons to return from his ACL injury. The Los Angeles Chargers are sitting at 0-5 and have a young, talented edge rusher who is set to enter free agency this offseason. If Green Bay wants to add a player who not only could help them this year, but also be a piece down the road, they might be looking into edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, according to Zachary Rottman of FanSided.
Rottman sees Tuipulotu as a future cornerstone of the Packers defense.
“The Green Bay Packers and the Jacksonville Jaguars are on this list because they too could find some value in adding a young pass rusher to be a cornerstone within the defense,” wrote To
The Chargers’ second-round pick has two sacks in five games this season.
Green Bay Packers Could Trade for Tuli Tuipulotu
The 54th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft did not start out of the gate, but finished his rookie season with 11 starts and 4.5 sacks in his rookie. season. He started to become a household name after that.
Tuipulotu recorded 8.5 sacks in his second season. Then, he had the best year of his career. Tuipulotu posted 13 sacks and made the Pro Bowl. However, the Chargers did not give him an extension before the last year of his rookie deal.
Los Angeles is sitting at 0-5, and the future of their General Manager and Head coach could be up in the air. It would make sense for them to move Tuipulotu for some draft help. This would make things look more enticing for the next regime.
Packers Have Decision to Make With Lukas Van Ness
The Packers will get Parsons back soon, so adding Tuipulotu would say more about what they think of Lukas Van Ness beyond this year.
Van Ness was a first-round pick in the same draft class and has not lived up to expectations. He has 11 sacks in his first three seasons and five games. Tuipulotu has 27.5 sacks in that same time span.
For whatever it is worth, Van Ness has 2.5 sacks and 16 pressures this season. Tuipulotu has two sacks on 17 pressures. If the production remained the same, the team would not be interested.
However, they could add Tuipulotu this year and get help before Parsons comes back. They also would not have to overload Parsons when he comes back. Beyond that, they would have Van Ness and Tuipulotu competing for a contract extension next year. The team would extend one, and the thought of the two bringing out the most in each other could make the pick compensation worth it.
Still, the issue is that the cost in a trade for a young player with 27.5 sacks to start his career is not going to be cheap. Even if they view him as a rental, other teams would be interested in a signing after trading for him. Would the Packers give up on the future of Van Ness?
Packers Viewed as Landing Spot for Chargers Pro Bowler