Green Bay Packers

Report: Packers to re-sign top pass rusher Nick Perry

Published Mar. 9, 2017 9:03 a.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

Before the legal tampering period even began, there were a significant lack of pass rushers available. That’s because Jason Pierre-Paul, Chandler Jones and Melvin Ingram were all hit with the franchise tag.

Nick Perry, however, was not. The 26-year-old outside linebacker was the best pass rusher still on the market, and it’s clear the Packers made re-signing him a big priority. They have reportedly locked him up on a five-year deal, keeping him in Green Bay for the foreseeable future.

https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/status/839825507948593153

https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/status/839829293450551297

Perry had a breakout year in 2016, recording 11 sacks in 14 games. Entering the year, he had just 12.5 sacks in his career, so he nearly doubled that total in one season.

Some would argue that he was a one-year wonder, but sometimes that’s all it takes for a pass rusher. He was arguably the Packers’ best defensive player in 2016, so it’s no surprise they made him a big priority this offseason.

He’ll pair with Clay Matthews at outside linebacker, but it’s unclear whether Julius Peppers will be back in the mix, too. If he is, the Packers will have the same trio of pass rushers they had in 2016, which worked fairly well. They ranked sixth in the NFL in sacks with 40.