The Green Bay Packers will be under a lot of pressure to have a bounce-back season in 2026. Green Bay went all in on 2025, swinging a huge trade for Micah Parsons. Unfortunately, Parsons suffered a season-ending ACL tear that took the wind out of the team’s sails. The Packers still managed to make the playoffs, but collapsed against the Bears in their first game.
Green Bay deserves some credit for making smart moves this offseason, even though they did not have many resources to work with. The Packers added depth on defense in the 2026 NFL Draft, bringing in multiple players who could contribute right away this fall.
However, the roster could still use another addition or two before the regular season. Especially at edge rusher, where the Packers could use reinforcements while Parsons gets healthy.
That’s where veteran edge rusher Kyle Van Noy comes in.
Van Noy intends to play during the 2026 season. He made it abundantly clear during a recent interview with NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
“I definitely want to play this next year and that’s for sure, I’m going to play next year,” Van Noy said. “It’s a matter of potentially during the training camp to make a decision.”
The 35-year-old edge rusher declared that several teams are interested in signing him. But he plans to wait until training camp is already happening before making his final decision.
“There’s a lot of teams interested but we’re in just a wait-and-see game right now,” Van Noy added.
Could Green Bay be one of the teams in the mix? If they are, the Packers need to sign Van Noy ahead of the upcoming season.
Why the Packers need to add Van Noy before the 2026 season
The Packers need all the help they can get on the defensive side of the ball. An experienced veteran like Van Noy could be worth more to the Packers than other NFL teams.
At this point in the offseason, it is impossible to know exactly when Parsons will return from injury. But early estimates point to Parsons missing roughly the first four weeks of the regular season. If that is true, then Green Bay could be in the market for a spot starter to begin the 2026 season.
Look no further than Green Bay’s depth chart to understand why this is such a big need. Lukas Van Ness is the team’s best edge rusher with Parsons out of the picture. That leaves one starting spot available, which currently looks like a competition between Brenton Cox Jr., Barryn Sorrell, and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Those three players will give the Packers excellent depth on the edge later in the season. But any of those players would be a liability as a regular starter for multiple weeks.
Meanwhile, Van Noy could step in and play at a solid level right away. Van Noy played fewer snaps in 2025 than most of his career, but he made the most of them. He logged 20 tackles with two sacks and one interception.
Van Noy’s ability to defend the run could be his most attractive quality to Green Bay. PFF gave Van Noy his best run defense grade (76.7) since 2019 for the 2025 season, showing he can still play in that role at a high level.
The Packers will need the help as they face elite running backs like Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall, and Bucky Irving in the opening weeks of the season.
Packers fans should keep an eye on Van Noy later this summer.
The Green Bay Packers will be under a lot of pressure to have a bounce-back season in 2026. Green Bay went all in on 2025, swinging a huge trade for Micah Parsons. Unfortunately, Parsons suffered a season-ending ACL tear that took the wind out of the team’s sails. The Packers still managed to make the playoffs, but collapsed against the Bears in their first game.