Whitney Mercilus won’t be Returning to Green Bay Packers

Whitney Mercilus was signed by the Green Bay Packers prior to Week 7 of the 2011 regular season after he was released by Houston, where he had spent his entire career until that point.

Although at this stage of his career, Mercilus was not the same player that he had used to be, with the Packers he was revitalized.

While, due to a biceps injury, it was a small sample size, Mercilus recorded 10 pressures and a sack in just over three games with Green Bay. By PFF’s ($$) pass-rush productivity metric, Mercilus would rank 32nd out of 105 total edge rushers from Weeks 7 to 9.

Unfortunately, that aforementioned biceps injury would sideline him for the remainder of the regular season—although he did make a welcomed and surprise return for the playoffs.

As good as Rashan Gary and Preston Smith were in 2021, with both finishing inside the top-10 in pressures generated, the depth at the edge rusher position was a concern for much of the season. The run defense took a hit when those two weren’t on the field while there was a lack of impact plays and consistency.

But the addition of Mercilus helped elevate the overall play of this unit as he provided a steady presence when either Smith or Gary weren’t on the field, as well as on third downs and in obvious passing situations getting after the quarterback. This is one reason why a reunion with Green Bay for the 2022 season would have made sense.

However, that won’t be the case. On Wednesday, Mercilus posted on his Instagram account that he would be retiring after an impressive NFL career.

If a reunion between the Packers and Mercilus were going to happen, my guess is that it wouldn’t have taken place until after the draft. If Green Bay didn’t select someone that they felt could be relied upon in that third edge rusher role right away, re-signing Mercilus would have made more sense. On the flip side, if they landed an immediate impact player, then I’m not so sure Mercilus would have returned.

Edge rusher depth remains a fairly big need for the Green Bay Packers.

With that said, this is all a moot point now. However, the edge rusher position does still need to be addressed for the reasons already mentioned. Edge rusher is a premiere position — the name of the game, after all, is getting after the quarterback — while it is also a heavily rotated one as well, which is why having reliable depth is crucial.

Although receiver is the main position on everyone’s radar, with a loaded edge rusher draft class and four picks in the first two rounds, don’t be surprised to see Green Bay select an edge rusher early on. In fact, I’m almost expecting it to happen.