The Packers may need a short-term answer off the edge, and Jadeveon Clowney has emerged as the name to watch.
With Micah Parsons expected to begin the 2026 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, Green Bay is staring at at least the first month without the All-pro presence that changed games in the backfield last fall. That leaves the front seven needing pressure from a group that, on paper, doesn’t have a proven replacement ready to step in and carry the load.
That’s why CBS Sports analyst Zachary Pereles has floated Clowney as a fit before Week 1. In his view, the Packers are thin at EDGE with Parsons sidelined, and the options behind him are still developing.
“With Parsons expected to miss the start of the season,” Pereles writes for CBS. “Green Bay is pretty bare at EDGE. Lukas Van Ness hasn’t lived up to his first-round billing, and the other top options are 2025 fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell and 2026 fourth-round pick Dani Dennis-Sutton.”
Clowney, 33, spent last season on a one-year, $3.45 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys and turned in 8.5 sacks along with 24 total tackles. He’s still sitting in free agency, and his résumé makes him a logical veteran option for a Packers team that needs immediate help.
If Green Bay does make the move, Clowney would give the Packers a steadier pass-rush presence while Parsons is out and could still have a role once Parsons returns. In other words, he’d be more than just a stopgap - he could end up giving the entire front seven a real boost.
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