Packers’ Brian Gutekunst stands firm on Rashan Gary trade amid return questions

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Monday defended the organization’s decision to trade veteran defensive lineman Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys, insisting the club extracted fair value for a player it was prepared to release outright.

Speaking to reporters, Gutekunst said the Packers would not have completed the deal had the return not met an internal threshold, even as some observers questioned whether a 2027 fourth-round pick was sufficient compensation for a productive edge rusher.

“It was tough to part with Rashan because he’s such a good player,” Gutekunst said, according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “But I think just where we were going as a football team, it made a little bit of sense for us. Quite frankly, I think a guy with 60 pressures, 7.5 sacks and a guy you can kind of count on consistently, there’s not a lot of those guys in the National Football League. He’s still a pretty young player, probably his best football is still ahead of him. Not at all (surprised). We weren’t going to move on from him unless we could get something that made sense for us.”

The Cowboys, who had pursued Maxx Crosby before the Baltimore Ravens acquired and then backed out of that deal, pivoted quickly to secure Gary for the lone fourth-round selection. Green Bay, facing the likelihood of releasing the 2019 first-round pick without compensation, viewed the last-minute trade as a necessary roster maneuver.

Gary departs Wisconsin after seven seasons, 106 games, 46.5 sacks, 271 total tackles, seven forced fumbles and six passes defended. The transaction officially closes his chapter in Green Bay and opens a fresh start in Dallas, where the front office hopes his pressure production will bolster a defense that came calling after missing out on other marquee pass rushers.