The Green Bay Packers head into Sunday's clash with their NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings, looking to keep pace in the division. The inconsistency from the offense has been an issue for most of the season, but defensive end Rashan Gary has experienced his own struggles and finds himself in a precarious position with the impending return of Lukas Van Ness.
According to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, head coach Matt LaFleur says the goal is for Van Ness to play Sunday for the first time since Week 6, but they will see how he gets through Friday. Van Ness has been out of action since injuring his foot when he sacked Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco back in October, and now his return will put pressure on players like Gary to step up and take charge of what has been one of the league's best defenses.
A Return from Lukas Van Ness Could Be Bad News for Rashan Gary
Gary is making $24 million a season to be a force on the opposite side of Micah Parsons, but he isn't making an impact that even comes close to his price tag. Pro Football Focus has him ranked 50th or worse when it comes to most grades involving exterior defenders, including overall defense (69.6, 50th), pass rush (62.5, 84th), and tackling (66.5, 64th).
If Gary is already losing playing time to Kingsley Enagbare and Colby Wooden, two players who don't have as many proven results as him, it is even more likely that he will take on a reduced role when Van Ness returns. Especially if you consider the spark he has provided to the defense when he has played this season.
Before his injury, Van Ness was playing a key role as a rotational player on the edge and inside, and was playing arguably as well as he has in his three years so far, with 16 pressures on 104 pass-rushing snaps. His first two seasons in the NFL have not been the flashiest, with no more than 33 total tackles in either season, but his performance in limited starts this season should put the pressure on Gary.
Meanwhile, Gary has not played more than 47 defensive snaps in a game this season and only played 39 in the win over the New York Giants, something LaFleur noted was due to Enagbare's performance. Enagbare logged 40 snaps, and Wooden played 48 snaps, which further highlights Gary's usage problem despite being tied for 10th in the league with 7.5 sacks, second only to Parsons (8.0) on the team.
Enagbare's contract demands will only continue to go up due to the impressive job he has done with Van Ness sidelined. Gary has still made an impact as well, but the lower PFF grade and limited snap count do not bode well for him when Van Ness returns.
Unless he finds a way to flip the script on his outlook immediately, Gary could be one step closer to a potential Packers exit if Van Ness hits the ground running.