The Green Bay Packers are heading into the 2026 offseason with some major decisions on their plate-and one of the biggest revolves around pass rusher Rashan Gary. After a season of highs and lows, general manager Brian Gutekunst finally addressed the media following the recent contract extensions of head coach Matt LaFleur, Gutekunst himself, and vice president Russ Ball. While the organization has solidified its leadership structure, the same can’t be said for parts of the roster.
At the center of that uncertainty is Gary, whose 2025 campaign started with promise but ended with more questions than answers. When the Packers pulled off a blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons just before the season kicked off, the expectation was clear: Parsons’ presence would elevate the entire defense.
And to be fair, he delivered-12.5 sacks, a First Team All-Pro nod, and a Defensive Player of the Year finalist spot. That’s exactly what you hope for when you bring in a player of his caliber.
But the ripple effect? That’s where things get murky.
Many believed Gary would be the biggest beneficiary of Parsons lining up opposite him. On paper, it made sense.
Offensive lines would be forced to account for Parsons, potentially freeing up one-on-one matchups for Gary to exploit. And early on, it looked like that theory was playing out.
Gary racked up 4.5 sacks in the Packers’ first three games and had 7.5 through the first seven weeks. He was flying off the edge with confidence, using his burst and strength to collapse pockets and disrupt timing.
Then came the drop-off.
After October 26, Gary didn’t register a single sack. For a player with a Pro Bowl pedigree and a significant cap hit, that’s a tough pill to swallow. Down the stretch, when the Packers needed their pass rush to step up, Gary’s impact all but disappeared.
When asked about Gary’s season, Gutekunst didn’t shy away from the reality of the situation-though he chose his words carefully.
“I thought he started out really strong. He had a lot of production early,” Gutekunst said.
“I did think toward the end he wasn’t as productive as he was at the beginning. Certainly, that’ll be something I’m sure he looks at personally and we look at as a team.”
That’s the kind of GM-speak we’ve come to expect-measured, non-committal, and diplomatic. Gutekunst isn’t going to lay out the team’s offseason plans in a press conference, and he’s certainly not going to publicly put a player on the chopping block. But reading between the lines, there’s a clear message: Gary’s second-half fade hasn’t gone unnoticed, and his future in Green Bay is far from guaranteed.
This isn’t unfamiliar territory for Gutekunst either. Fans remember 2024, when he expressed confidence that running back Aaron Jones would be back-only for the team to move on from the longtime fan favorite shortly after. So when Gutekunst avoids making promises about Gary’s return, it’s not just cautious language-it’s a signal that all options are on the table.
The financial side of this can’t be ignored either. Releasing Gary would free up significant cap space, something every front office values as they try to build around a young, evolving roster. And with Parsons now entrenched as the defensive cornerstone, the Packers may feel they can afford to move on from a player who couldn’t sustain his production when it mattered most.
That’s not to say Gary is done in Green Bay. He’s still a talented edge rusher with the tools to bounce back. But in a league where production and consistency are king-especially for high-priced veterans-his margin for error is razor-thin.
The Packers have made it clear they’re looking ahead. With their leadership locked in and one of the league’s most dynamic defenders in Parsons, they’re not standing pat. Whether Gary is part of that next chapter remains to be seen, but if his 2025 season taught us anything, it’s that past flashes of brilliance won’t be enough to guarantee a future in Green Bay.