The Free Agent Packers Couldn’t Afford to Lose (But Did)

Note: This story was published on Monday morning, before the Green Bay Packers lost Kingsley Enagbare to the Jets in free agency.

The Green Bay Packers have a lot of uncertainty at defensive end.

When will Micah Parsons be back on the field? And when will he be back to being, well, Micah Parsons?

Will Lukas Van Ness finally become the player the Packers hoped he’d be when they drafted him in the first round in 2023?

Will Barryn Sorrell, who had a quiet rookie season, and Collin Oliver, who missed the first 16 games of his rookie season, become reliable contributors?

Will the Packers bring back Brenton Cox and Arron Mosby, two restricted free agents who will become unrestricted free agents when they officially are not tendered?

All of that uncertainty builds to this question: In the wake of trading Rashan Gary, will the Packers be able to re-sign unrestricted free agent Kingsley Enagbare?

If Enagbare is back, the Packers at least can deal with all of the other questions.

To be sure, Enagbare is not a great player. Even an underachieving Gary put together better production than Enagbare. However, the 2022 fifth-round pick was a reliable, steady performer and leader.

“Kingsley brings it every single week,” Van Ness said after the late-season loss to Baltimore. “He’s just a player that you can always rely on to bring energy and play with a physical brand of football. It’s a guy that when I came in as a rookie, he was a year older than me and someone I’ve bonded with and looked up to.

“He’s just a hell of a player. Every time you step on the field, you know 5-5 is going to give it his all. He shared a little bit of that sentiment after the game that you got to leave it all on the field. He felt that some people didn’t. At this point of the season, you have to be willing to (put) your body on the line.”

Enagbare had at least 207 pass-rushing opportunities each of his four seasons. Using that number as the baseline, Enagbare according to Pro Football Focus ranked 39th out of 96 edges in pass-rush win rate as a rookie, 60th out of 92 in 2023, 82nd out of 93 in 2024 and 65th out of 90 in 2025. He has only 11 sacks for his career.

However, in 2025, the run defense was 0.42 yards per snap better when he was on the field. Against the run, specifically, it seemed like he made one high-impact play against the run every week.

Spotrac is projecting a two-year contract worth almost $12 million.

Beginning in Week 15, when Parsons was injured at Denver, though the season-ending playoff loss at Chicago but not including Week 18, when the Packers rested their front-line players, Green Bay played four games. Among the team’s defensive ends, Enagbare played 195 snaps. That was more than any of the team’s other ends; Gary played 156 and Van Ness played 142.

“I think J.J.’s played really well. I mean really well,” then-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said late in the season. “Setting the edges, making key plays, like the one he did make in the Bears game on a third-and-1 when he tackled the back behind the line. I think he’s rushed really well. I think he’s been a great teammate, he’s practiced hard. I think he’s done a really good job.”

If the Packers don’t re-sign Enagbare, they’d be perilously thin at defensive end. Obviously, players will be added, but the only players on the roster who would be on the field for Week 1 are Van Ness, who has 8.5 sacks in three seasons, Sorrell, who had 1.5 sacks in 14 games as a rookie, and Oliver, who missed the first 16 games with a hamstring injury.

General manager Brian Gutekunst spoke highly of Sorrell and Oliver, fourth- and fifth-round picks, respectively, last year, but potential isn’t the same as production. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whether they will be good, bad or in between.

“Really excited about Barryn,” Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “With the opportunities he was given last year, I thought he performed very, very well, especially late in the season when we needed him. I thought he did a really nice job and I think he’ll be a major part of that core group moving forward.

“Oliver, obviously, was a little bit of a wild card because he’s a bit of tweener – kind of a Sam linebacker/edge rusher – and he was on the shelf [because of the hamstring]. Didn’t really know during the season if we’d ever get the ability to get him out there, and that last game was really nice to get him out there to see what he could do. You guys probably saw it, too, he can really run, and then his ability to chase the quarterback is something that you need in this league.”

If the Packers can’t re-sign Enagbare, they might have to dive into the veteran pool. It’s a decent group, even with Khalil Mack off the board. However, Enagbare’s run defense, toughness – he’s played in all 68 games in four seasons – and growing leadership would make him a key player in 2026.

“He always seems to make some impact plays,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I love his style of play, just tough, gritty. You’re going to get everything out of him.”

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