Having come back as strong as ever following last year’s torn ACL, Rashan Gary was 10 games from the untold riches of NFL free agency.
Instead, Gary opted to sign a contract extension with the Green Bay Packers, the team that drafted the talented but unpolished prospect in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
“Not at all,” Gary said on Monday when asked if he considered waiting for free agency. “I knew from the first time I got a phone call and I picked up and realized I was a Packer, like I said and I’ve been saying this from Day 1, the team that gave me a chance to reach my childhood dreams, provide for my family things that I’ve been saying and wanting to accomplish and I’ve been able to accomplish.
“A lot of men and people in this world can’t speak certain things and have certain things happen, so I’m very thankful and very appreciative of the position I’m in right now.”
The contract extension keeps the 25-year-old contractually tied to Green Bay through the 2027 season.
Gary had a breakout 2021 season with 9.5 sacks. He was on his way to even bigger and better things in 2022 before he suffered a torn ACL at Detroit on Nov. 6.
Gary was back on the field for Week 1 at Chicago. He leads the team with 4.5 sacks and is second in the NFL in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.
Sunday marked 357 days since the injury.
“Man, it just makes me hungrier,” he said. “The organization that believed in me, trusted me and sees my growth from when I came in and sees the man that I’m still becoming and the player that I’m working to become and still on the rise to become, for them to see that and bless me, man, I’m in awe, bro. I’m a little tongue-twisted, words not together, but I’m just blessed.”
The knee injury might have robbed Gary of his big 2022 season, but it didn’t rob him of a big payday and the job security that comes with a four-year extension.
There was never a doubt this moment would come, he said.
“I think I told y’all this before, I knew from the time that it happened that I was going to come back better than what I left, and that’s still my mindset,” he said. “I’m still pushing for that. What we got, 11 more games this season? So, I got 11 more games to show out.”
Gary’s beloved mom, Jennifer Coney, and his sister, were in town for Sunday’s game so got to see him put pen to paper.
“For me to sign a contract like that, meaning that much, with my loved ones, my base, words can’t really describe the feeling,” he said.
“She gave me a hug and a kiss and started crying. My whole football journey, from when I started from seventh grade to me being 25 [and] on my fifth year now [in the NFL], I can only see how she envisioned me. Just seeing my dreams come true and seeing things in my way and seeing me not worried about things in my way and knocking down walls, just being the guy that I want to become for my family and myself, her seeing that, that hug and cry said it all.”
Gary cried, too, just like he did when he returned to practice in August.
“Oh, yeah, of course,” he said. “This is beyond me, this is bigger than me. This is life-changing. That’s something I never take for granted.”
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