NFL Analyst Shares Bold Thought On Packers’ Rashan Gary

There may not be a player more important to the Green Bay Packers defense in 2023 than pass rusher Rashan Gary. The impact that he can have on a game was felt last season, as he was in the midst of a breakout campaign before suffering a torn ACL in Week 9 against the Detroit Lions.

Rashan Gary was in the top 10 of numerous pass-rushing stats before the injury, including having 6.0 sacks. Without him in the lineup, the Packers’ pass-rushing production fell off a cliff.

For some context into how poor it was, he finished second on the team in sacks behind only Preston Smith, who had 8.5.

Heading into the 2023 season, this area of the defense no longer looks like a weakness for the Packers.

Smith and fellow veteran Justin Hollins have been joined by emerging second-year player JJ Enagbare, rookie first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and undrafted free agent rookie Brenton Cox Jr. to make a formidable pass-rushing group.

That depth will enable the Packers to take things slow with Rashan Gary as he continues working his way back in his ACL rehab.

The team plans to have him on a pitch count early in the season, which is doable because of how well the other players looked in training camp and the preseason.

Once he is ready for a full allotment of snaps, Green Bay is hoping that the Michigan product picks right up where he left off before the injury. One person who believes that will occur is Kevin Patra of NFL.com.