Sports Illustrated failed several Green Bay Packers defenders in their annual Report Card, doling out grades of C minus or worse to several players including team sacks leader Rashan Gary. The 6th-year defensive end finished 2024 with a 7.5 mark in that category.
In large part, Gary’s poor appraisal is due to salary cap considerations, the basis for SI’s grading scale. Given his 4-year, $96 million extension that runs through 2027, it is probably true that is he playing below his pay.
Indeed, the article notes that “Gary ranks eighth among edge defenders (4-3 ends and 3-4 outside linebackers) in annual pay at $24.0 million per season.”
Given that hefty paycheck, superior performance is the standard. With an overall PFF score 36th among 211 qualified edge rushers, though, is Gary really an undesirable asset? SI seems to think so.
Green Bay Packers Gave Rashan Gary the Bag–Is He Reciprocating?
Because of his salary, position, and early-career trajectory, is hard to fault the notion that Gary is “supposed to be the player that can create that game-changing play on any snap.” The fact that he remains outside that game-wrecker tier is part of the reason the Packers may pursue a pass rusher this offseason via free agency or trade.
Purely from a numbers standpoint, he has supplied satisfactory production. Rushing the passer isn’t really his forte. Still, he ranked 65th/211 in that area last season and is borderline elite versus the run (17th). While pressuring the quarterback is the more desirable trait for most teams at defensive end, if there is an issue, it isn’t Gary’s raw performance.
Rather, as his “Report Card” suggests, it is his production relative to salary. And true, paying Gary $24 million a year limits how Green Bay can invest in other positions, at edge rusher or otherwise.
The article observes: “Six seasons into his career, he’s still looking for his first 10-sack season. Gary had 15 quarterback hits; the average for the other edge rushers in the top 10 in annual salary was 23.”
If you asked Green Bay’s front office if they would take this outcome when they signed him to that extension, a “yes” seems unlikely.
Gary Is Good But Not Anywhere Near Great
It isn’t just a money matter, though, according to SI. Compared to pass rushers with a similar snap count, he is barely above average:
According to Pro Football Focus, 79 edge defenders had at least 250 pass-rushing opportunities. Gary ranked 37th in pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 39th in pass-rush win rate.
Green Bay is paying him to be better than that–much better. While the Packers finished 10th in sacks last season, they could use another bull rusher.
Receiving C- grades were 2nd-year DE Lukas Van Ness (C-), who admittedly regressed in his sophomore campaign, and fellow reserve Arron Mosby, further down the depth chart.
Defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare earned a C and rookie Brenton Cox got away with a B. Limited to 7 games by injury, he performed well for a first-year pro while carrying a cap hit of less than a million dollars.
If the Packers want fortify the passer attack alongside Gary and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, a standout rookie in 2024, several options exist in free agency. That market includes Josh Sweat and Khalil Mack, who both ranked above Gary in PFF grade last season–28th and 5th, respectively.
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