Could the Green Bay Packers turn to a hired gun for help at edge rusher before the 2026 season?
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz has “final” offseason moves for all 32 NFL teams, and his pick for the Packers was signing veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who has played for seven different teams and is looking for his fourth different team in as many years.
It’s a potentially attractive idea considering the depth at the important position in Green Bay, and Clowney’s impressive 2025 season as a role player.
From Schatz: “The Packers are counting on Lukas Van Ness to finally live up to his potential as the starting edge across from Micah Parsons. But because Parsons (ACL) isn’t expected to come back until at least mid-October, who are they going to play? Brenton Cox Jr.? Barryn Sorrell? The Packers need another veteran pass rusher who can help fill in for Parsons and then provide depth once he returns. Clowney’s 22.4% pass rush win rate last season would have been near the top of the league if he had enough pass-rush snaps to qualify for ESPN’s rankings. He had 8.5 sacks for Dallas, and the Packers could also use his ability to set the edge against the run.”
Generally speaking, it appears depth at edge rusher is the biggest concern for national analysts when assessing the Packers entering 2026.
Clowney is an established edge rusher, with a long history of consistent production, and the Packers could certainly add veteran depth the position, especially with Micah Parsons expected to miss the first month or more of the 2026 regular season. Mark Oldacres of Packers Wire looked into the idea of adding a veteran edge rusher earlier this month, with Clowney one of the possible options.
Clowney is now 33 years old, and he’s bounced around teams over the last half decade. But he also produced 8.5 sacks, 40 pressures, 12 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, one forced fumble and four batted passes over 13 games and only 373 total snaps with the Dallas Cowboys last season. At PFF, Clowney earned strong grades, with a 79.2 defense grade, 80.6 pass rush grade and 70.6 run defense grade. In terms of veterans who can impact the game positively as a rotational player, Clowney fits the bill.
He likely wouldn’t be expensive. Clowney signed a one-year deal worth $3.5 million, with only $1.25 million guaranteed, just last season. The Cowboys got great value in terms of production from that deal.
This could be the right spot for the Packers to add a mercenary player like Clowney. Parsons is going to miss time, and the Packers are expected to rely on young players like Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver and Dani Dennis-Sutton to play key rotational roles. Clowney would provide a veteran capable of playing right away and giving the Packers quality snaps until Parsons is 100 percent again, and he’d provide an established safeguard should an injury hit Parsons or Lukas Van Ness.
Then again, the Packers typically prefer to give young, developing players like Sorrell, Oliver and Dennis-Sutton opportunities to learn on the fly and grow into roles. Signing Clowney might make sense for the 2026 Packers, but it would also be fair to file this one away in the unlikely folder.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Should the Packers sign veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney?
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zach Kruse, Packers Wire | USA TODAY Network
