The Green Bay Packers have a plethora of needs that they need to address this offseason. While brining back free agents Keisean Nixon and Rudy Ford are good moves, there remains a great deal of work to be done. One of the positions in need of some additional depth is edge rusher. Rashan Gary will be coming off of a torn ACL, and whether or not he is even ready for Week One remains to be seen. Preston Smith is a solid starter who also restructured his contract to remain with the team. Kingsley Enagbare had a solid rookie season, but beyond those three, there is not much depth.
For this reason, one NFL writer has named the Packers as the best fit for free agent pass rusher Leonard Floyd.
The Green Bay Packers Are the Best Fit for Free Agent Edge Rusher Leonard Floyd
In a recent article posted on Bleacher Report, writer Alex Ballentine named the Green Bay Packers as the best fit for former Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who was a cap casualty earlier this offseason. Ballentine wrote:
“The Packers could use a third pass-rusher to team with Rashan Gary and Preston Smith. Like the Rams, they operate from a base 3-4 front, and defensive coordinator Joe Barry worked with Floyd in his last season as the Rams’ linebacker coach in 2020. Floyd had 10.5 sacks that season.”
In addition to the Packers, Ballentine mentioned the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions as good fits for Floyd.
Analyzing How Leonard Floyd Would Fit with the Green Bay Packers
As Ballentine noted, Floyd is an excellent pass rusher who has 29 sacks over his last three seasons. The absolute best season of his career came in 2020, the year that Joe Barry was his linebackers coach. That year, he had 55 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 19 quarterback hits, and two fumble recoveries. This past year, Floyd had 59 tackles, nine sacks, and a career-high 22 quarterback hits. Clearly, he still has a lot left in his tank.
The question really isn’t can Floyd fit with the Packers. Of course, the answer is “yes.” The real question is “can the the Packers afford him?” According to Spotrac, Floyd has a market value of three year for $41.2 million. That comes out to about $13.7 million per season. As much as Floyd might fit on this Packers team, it is hard to see them spending that kind of money on a single player in free agency this year.
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