The Cowboys didn’t wait long to go back to the Packers for help on the edge.
Six months after Dallas sent an edge rusher to Green Bay, the teams worked out another deal, and this time Rashan Gary is the one headed to Dallas to help patch the pass rush after Micah Parsons’ departure. The move came together on March 11, with the Cowboys sending a 2027 fourth-round pick to Green Bay and getting back a veteran who should step right into the mix in their new 3-4 defense.
Gary’s path to this point started as one of the more highly regarded prospects in the 2019 draft. Green Bay took him 12th overall, making him Matt LaFleur’s first pick as Packers head coach.
He didn’t jump straight into a starring role, though. As a rookie, Gary backed up Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, worked in the rotation, played every game, and finished with two sacks.
His role grew in 2020, and so did the production. With just under twice the snaps from his first season, Gary more than doubled his sack total to five and raised his QB-hit total from three to 11.
By Year 3, he had turned into a full-time starter and delivered his best season yet: 9.5 sacks, 28 QB hits, and 47 pressures. That performance pushed Green Bay to exercise his fifth-year option.
Then came the ACL tear in November of his fourth season. Gary bounced back in 2023, appearing in all 17 games, starting 13, and finishing with nine sacks. That was enough for the Packers to keep betting on him, and they handed him a four-year, $96 million contract extension before his sixth season.
His 2024 season brought the first Pro Bowl nod of his career. Gary wasn’t a 10-sack player, but his all-around work on the edge earned him recognition, and he also continued to hold up well against the run.
Even after Micah Parsons arrived in 2025, Gary matched his previous sack total with 7.5 and stayed strong in run support. The issue was timing: every one of those sacks came in Weeks 1-8, and his second-half fade left his future unsettled.
That’s where Dallas comes in. With the Cowboys shifting to a 3-4 look and needing experienced outside linebackers, Gary fits the bill. He also reunites with longtime Packers teammate Kenny Clark, while stepping into a defense that is still young enough to need veteran voices.
The contract reflects that fit. Gary has two years left, with a 2026 cap hit of $5.7 million.
He took a real pay cut to get to Dallas, not just a restructure, with his annual compensation dropping from $24 million to $16 million. Void years were added to help the Cowboys’ cap situation, and the expectation is that he’ll be around for the next two seasons before hitting free agency in 2028 at age 31.
For 2026, Gary is penciled in as a starting OLB and has a 100% roster chance. Dallas has more pass-rush options than it can keep, but Gary already has his spot. The top three locks are Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and rookie Malachi Lawrence, while James Houston, Sam Williams, Charles Snowden, Marist Liufau, and others will be battling for what’s left.
The Cowboys are bringing Gary in for a very specific job. His ability to set the edge is a big part of the appeal, and it should keep him on the field early and often. In clear passing situations, Dallas may lean on Ezeiruaku and Lawrence to attack the quarterback, but plenty of alignments will likely have one of them on the weak side with Gary handling the other edge and helping against the run.
There’s still a question hanging over him: was the late-season dip in 2025 just a blip, maybe even tied to Parsons’ arrival, or the start of a downturn? At 28, Gary still has room to prove it was the former.
He’s never been a 10-plus sack player, and that probably isn’t what Dallas is buying here. But if he can help against the run and be a steady part of the pass-rush rotation, he gives the Cowboys a real chance to strengthen a defense that needed it.
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