Former first-round pick returns to Packers practice

The fifth-year edge defender returned to practice Monday, moving off the Packers’ active/PUP list. If Gary ends up needing more time in an effort to come back from the severe knee injury, the Packers no longer have the option of stashing him on the reserve/PUP list to start the year. Green Bay would only have an IR option; like the reserve/PUP list, that designation would cost Gary four games. As of Monday, however, it is more likely than not that Gary begins the season on time.

Gary broke through for 9.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hits in 2021, helping the Packers secure their second straight No. 1 seed despite a wave of injuries depleting their depth chart. The team then made Za’Darius Smith a cap casualty in March 2022. Gary and Preston Smith remain the Packer anchors on the edge, though first-round pick Lukas Van Ness—who excelled as an off-the-bench inside and outside rusher at Iowa—is now in the picture.

Gary’s return will give the Packers flexibility with Van Ness, whose path could be similar to that of Gary’s. That said, Green Bay would only incur a $4M dead-money charge by designating Preston Smith a post-June 1 cut in 2024. For now, the team will have an intriguing set of pass rushers entering its first post-Aaron Rodgers season.

Eric Stokes, who was lost for the season during the same Week 9 game in which Gary went down, remains on Green Bay’s active/PUP list. The third-year cornerback can be activated at any point during training camp. Stokes is coming off knee and foot surgeries.