NFL Free Agency Preview: Potential Defensive End Targets for Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ free-agent plans at defensive end are shrouded in mystery. For now, anything and everything is possible until the Packers make known their plan for Rashan Gary.

In Part 6 of our free agent previews, here is a Packers-centric look at the defensive ends.

Any Packers in Free Agency?

The Packers have three free agents. Kingsley Enagbare, a fifth-round pick in 2022, was a durable and reliable contributor the past four seasons.

Enagbare had two sacks and six tackles for losses in 2025. He’s played in all 68 games the past four seasons. After Micah Parsons’ injury, Enagbare played the most snaps. He’s not a great player but he provided plenty of value. Of 110 edge rushers with at least 150 pass-rushing opportunities, Enagbare ranked just 75th in PFF’s pass-rush win rate but the run defense was 0.42 yards per snap better when he was on the field.

The “provided plenty of value” line is key. That’s past tense. Now, how will his value be judged around the rest of the league?

The Packers have two restricted free agents, Brenton Cox and Arron Mosby. If they are not tendered, they’d be unrestricted agents, as well.

Cox was an impact player during the second half of the 2024 season. In seven games after the Preston Smith trade, he had four sacks. His pass-rush win rate was 17.0 percent. In 2025, he suffered a groin injury in Week 1 against Detroit and finished the season with one sack and a pass-rush win rate of 6.8 percent in four games.

Mosby is a nonfactor on defense, but you’d guess new special teams coordinator Cam Achord would want him to be re-signed because of how physically he played in 221 kicking-game snaps.

Of course, the big question at this position isn’t about free agency. It’s about Rashan Gary, who is coming off a dismal second half of last season and has a salary-cap figure of more than $28.0 million for 2026. That’s a lot of money for a player who had no sacks or tackles for losses after Week 8 at Pittsburgh.

It’s not just the lack of sacks. Next Gen Stats defines a quick pressure as a pressure applied in less than 3.0 seconds. Gary averaged 18.3 quick pressures from 2021 through 2024. In 2025, he had eight. Meanwhile, according to Sports Info Solutions, his average tackle in 2025 was made 2.6 yards downfield. It ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 the previous four seasons.

Green Bay Packers defensive ends Rashan Gary (52) and Brenton Cox Jr. (57) run onto the field before the game at Minnesota. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Packers Free Agent Outlook

There is a lot of uncertainty hovering over the 2025 depth chart.

Micah Parsons: Unlikely to be ready for Week 1.

Rashan Gary: Potential cost-saving cut.

Kingsley Enagbare: Unrestricted free agent.

Lukas Van Ness: 8.5 sacks in three seasons.

Barryn Sorrell: 1.5 sacks as a rookie fourth-round pick.

Collin Oliver: Played in one game as a rookie fifth-round pick.

Brenton Cox: Free agent (probably unrestricted).

Arron Mosby: Free agent (probably unrestricted).

The only sure things for Week 1 are Van Ness, Sorrell and Oliver. That’s it. Therefore, whatever general manager Brian Gutekunst decides with Gary, it can’t be made in a vacuum. He probably has to keep Gary or Enagbare and then at least one of the restricted free agents.

Free Agent Defensive Ends Who Could Interest Packers

With Micah Parsons’ record-setting contract, the Packers probably can’t afford another enormous contract. That means the Packers won’t be signing Trey Hendrickson or trading for Maxx Crosby.

With Parsons coming off his knee injury, Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver entering Year 2 and with a strong draft class, general manager Brian Gutekunst might be in the odd position of looking for a one-year veteran rather than an in-his-prime pass rusher.

Pro Football Focus’ pass-rushing productivity rankings are based on the 100 edge defenders with at least 175 pass-rushing opportunities. (Ages are in parentheses.)

Khalil Mack (52) sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers while with the Bears in 2021. | MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK

Khalil Mack, Chargers (35): Mack is coming back for his 13th season. No doubt he’d like to play for a contender, which should be true of the Chargers and Packers. He was a Pro Bowler in 2022, 2023 and 2024. In 2025, injuries limited him to 12th games. He had 5.5 sacks and finished 32nd in pass-rush win rate. Critically, he added four forced fumbles to give him 11 the last three seasons and remains a strong run defender.

Jadeveon Clowney, Cowboys (33): Clowney will be joining his fifth team in as many seasons. He knows how to get after the quarterback, though. In 13 games with Dallas in 2025, he had 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for losses and was 15th in pass-rush win rate. He’s a strong run defender, too.

Joey Bosa, Bills (31): The third pick of the 2016 draft has a troubling injury history with seven games played in 2018, five in 2022 and nine in 2023. He signed a one-year contract with the Bills last season and recorded five sacks, nine tackles for losses and an NFL-leading five forced fumbles in 15 games (all starts). He ranked 22nd in pass-rush win rate.

Bradley Chubb, Dolphins (30): After missing the 2024 season with a torn ACL, Chubb started all 17 games in 2025 and had 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He was 53rd in pass-rush win rate. In his five healthy seasons, Chubb has 47 sacks. Like with Bosa, health (and run defense) has been an issue.

Boye Mafe, Seahawks (27): A second-round pick in 2022, Mafe went from nine sacks in 2023 and six sacks in 2024 to two sacks in 17 games (four starts) in 2025. He was 53rd in pass-rush win rate. He’s batted down 14 passes the last three seasons and is a quality run defender.

Kwity Paye, Colts (27): A first-round pick in 2021, Paye didn’t quite become the fearsome pass rusher he was projected to be coming out of UCLA. After a total of 16.5 sacks and 18 tackles for losses in 2023 and 2024, he had four sacks and six TFLs in 2025. He was 61st in pass-rush win rate.

K’Lavon Chaisson, Patriots (27): At the end of our free-agent series, we’ll do a separate story on potential reclamation projects – early draft picks who didn’t quite pan out. Chaisson was a 2020 first-round pick who had five sacks in four seasons with Jacksonville. He’s no longer a reclamation project, though. He had five sacks for the Raiders in 2024 and 7.5 with the Patriots in 2025. He was 42nd in pass-rush win rate.

Derek Barnett, Texans (30): Barnett played the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Eagles, when new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon ran Philly’s defense. He was a starter in 2021, when he had two sacks, but missed most of 2022 with an injury. He is coming off back-to-back seasons of five sacks for the Texans, where he was a backup. He was 32nd in pass-rush win rate and remains a quality run defender.

A.J. Epenesa, Bills (27): A first-round pick by the Bills in 2020, Epenesa has 24 sacks, five forced fumbles and four interceptions in six seasons. After three consecutive seasons of 6.0 or 6.5 sacks, he had 2.5 sacks in 16 games (two starts) in 2025, when he was 90th in pass-rush win rate. Despite his size and length, run defense has not been a consistent strong suit.

Cameron Jordan, Saints (37): The eight-time Pro Bowler turned back the clock in 2025. After two sacks in 2023 and four sacks in 2024, he had 10.5 sacks, 15 tackles for losses and two forced fumbles in 2025. He was only 75th in pass-rush win rate, though. Astoundingly, he’s missed two games in 15 seasons, all spent in New Orleans, and remains a quality run stopper.

Dre’Mont Jones, Ravens (29): A third-round pick in 2019, Jones had a career-high seven sacks in 18 games (17 starts) with the Titans (4.5 sacks in nine games) and Ravens (2.5 sacks in nine games). He was 39th in pass-rush win rate.

Arnold Ebiketie, Falcons (27): A second-round pick in 2022, Ebiketie had 16.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in four seasons with Atlanta. He’s played in 67 of a possible 68 games but started only 12. He had only two sacks in 2025 but was 12th in pass-rush win rate. If the Packers go back to a 3-4, he could make sense as an outside linebacker.

Joseph Ossai, Bengals (26): With Trey Hendrickson on the way out, it’s hard to believe the Bengals would let go of Ossai, as well. The 2021 third-round pick missed his rookie season with a knee injury, then had 14.5 sacks and four forced fumbles the last two seasons. He had five sacks and two forced fumbles in 2025, when he was 61st in pass-rush win rate.

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