Not for nothing but the Packers' Edge Rashan Gary is a free agent after this season.
I have never been a big fan (better talent than player in my opinion) but Gary is good, and should be a top free agent. When he was drafted, Gary was vocal about wanting to develop a "Brand" and had ambitions beyond football. Los Angeles could be attractive to him; and it's not like there will be a ton of quality young free agent edge players out there.
Green Bay may try to hold onto Gary, and could even Franchise him, but the Packers did use a first round pick this year on another Edge in Lukas Van Ness.
Just Saying.
He's young enough to warrant a full contract. He simply has never lived up to his 1st round potential. That said he didn't become a starter until 2021 then got hurt and missed most of 2022. He played well as a starter. Not dominating, but he looked like a good edge. He's got room for improvement the only question would be why did it take him so long to become a starter after being drafted in the top half of the first round.
Because he's only got a one year resume he should be affordable and could blossom into a find like Floyd blossomed once in LA. He's got size, length, and speed to play the position. He won't be a rookie but a vet with close to two years experience. I totally agree he would be at least worth taking a shot at. It would solve that DE issue immediately. 2024 will probably be Donald's final year. Though he was talking about retiring after this year. But I don't see him leaving $10M on the table for one more year. His contract which was restructured indicates his retirement was probably envisioned at the time to be in 2025.
I think in 2025 Donald, Stafford and Kupp all retire. That is why next year's draft will be crucial in setting this team up to continue to be contenders. They have Turner who looks like Donald's replacement, and Nacua is obviously Kupp's replacement. That is why I believe they will draft their next QB1 by trading up in the first round. Penix is the highest ranked QB who is a complete fit for McVay's offense. So really they are looking for an edge, RB, OT and probably a NT. It's also why I'm curious why they have buried Zach Evans in the depth chart. They really need to find out what they have in him.
But yeah I agree Gary is worth a long hard look at.
