It’s trade rumor season in the NFL, and with it comes some reports that don’t make a ton of sense. In the land of Green Bay, Wisconsin, that came in the form of an ESPN report that included Rashan Gary‘s name.
Don’t be fooled by it. The Green Bay Packers aren’t trading Gary during the season this year, and especially not to the San Francisco 49ers.
To be fair, in Jeremy Fowler’s ESPN report, he only noted that he would expect San Francisco to ask Green Bay about Gary.
Other potential options I suspect the 49ers will check on include edge rushers Rashan Gary (Packers), Jaelan Phillips (Dolphins), Bradley Chubb (Dolphins), Jermaine Johnson (Jets), Will McDonald IV (Jets) and Arden Key (Titans). If the Packers won’t part with Gary — and I don’t think they would — they have pass rusher Kingsley Enagbare, a former starter who’s relegated to a reserve role in a contract year.
However, Fowler doesn’t just fling stuff at the wall and hope it sticks when it comes to his reporting. There’s a reason he mentioned Gary. Still, it makes no sense from Green Bay’s perspective.
The Packers made a massive splash right before the start of the season when they acquired Micah Parsons. One of the big reasons the Packers thought it would work is that bringing in Parsons would free up more one-on-one looks for Gary on a weekly basis.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley talked about just that right before Week 1, and it has played out in that fashion.
I think Rashan had a really good camp and he’s playing at a high level. I’m proud of him and, really, the D-line. Any time you bring in an elite rusher like Micah, there’s probably going to be a lot more one-on-one opportunities to win, and I think that should excite all those guys and I think they are excited.
Why, then, after trading for Parsons to solidify the edge with a tag-team partner for Gary, would the Packers turn around and trade Gary? It doesn’t make any sense.
On top of that, Lukas Van Ness suffered an injury in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals after sacking Joe Flacco. Van Ness wasn’t on the field at practice to start the week.
Would general manager Brian Gutekunst roll the dice and trade Gary with Van Ness nursing an injury, then rely upon Kingsley Enagbare and rookie Barryn Sorrell to carry the load? No.
Look at the entire defensive line, including the interior. Aside from Parsons, who has played 233 snaps, nobody on the front has been on the field more than Gary, who has logged 217 snaps of his own.
This wouldn’t be trading a reserve or a filler piece. It would be trading a star edge player who leads your team in sacks (4.5) and is a team captain in the midst of a season where you expect to compete for a title.
Factor in that the team linked to the trade is San Francisco, and it makes even less sense from Green Bay’s perspective.
The 49ers have been decimated by injuries, including those to their superstar players on the roster. Linebacker Fred Warner is out for the year, along with All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa. Why on earth would Green Bay do San Francisco a favor and bolster their front and give them another swing at things this year when they could potentially meet in the postseason?
San Francisco may make that call. Others could follow suit afterward. Gutekunst would be wise to hang up quickly.
Imagine a world where the Packers traded Gary to San Francisco, the two teams met in the postseason this year, and Gary had a monster performance in a 49ers win. All that good faith that Gutekunst has built up following the Parsons trade would be washed away.
Gary is under contract through 2027 on a pretty reasonable deal ($17.2 million this year and $19.5 million in 2026), given his production. He’s first in sacks on the team and second in quarterback pressures with 17. Per Pro Football Reference, Gary is the leader in the clubhouse in quarterback hits with nine and tackles for loss with four.
There’s no other way to look at this, it would be horrendously stupid for the Packers to trade Gary now. The deal for Parsons was to get one of the best in the business and partner him with Gary and Van Ness. The point was not to land Parsons to make Gary expendable.
Green Bay is in buy-now mode, if anything. They should not be viewed as a seller. Even if the trade for Gary netted a starting-caliber player in return to help the team now, it still isn’t happening.
The best path forward for the Packers in 2025, so they can achieve their ultimate dream, is with Gary on this team and contributing as he did in the first five games of the season. Trading him in general makes no sense. Trading him to a direct competitor is foolish dialogue.
It isn’t happening.