Clark brings Packers’ pass rushers together

Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark, left, and defensive end Rashan Gary wait between plays on the field in a game against the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 28 in Green Bay. (AP file photo)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Kenny Clark is hosting his fellow Green Bay Packers pass rushers for weekend offseason gatherings in hopes of producing more frequent get-togethers in opposing backfields each Sunday this fall.
The three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman realizes Green Bay’s pass rush can’t afford a repeat of its inconsistent 2024 performance.
“It was on and off,” the three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman said during organized team activities this week. “Honestly, not good enough. Not good enough. Not good enough to win a championship, so we’ve got to be better.”
That’s why Green Bay’s pass rushers have been conducting regular offseason film sessions at Clark’s home.
Rashan Gary, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman entering his seventh season in Green Bay, says this marks the first time they’ve had these types of weekend film studies at somebody’s house this early in the year.
“KC’s is the spot,” Gary said. “KC’s is the film study house. Everybody pulls up (to) KC. We might have pizza, wings, things like that, but we’re getting together and we’re locking in on details.”
Green Bay collected 45 sacks last season to tie for eighth place among all NFL teams, but more than half of those sacks came in just four games. The Packers had eight sacks against Tennessee, seven against Seattle, five against Miami and four against Houston.
In seven of their 17 games, the Packers had no more than one sack. They sacked Jalen Hurts twice in their 22-10 wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Green Bay ranked 16th in pressure rate, which calculates the number of hurries, knockdowns and sacks for each team divided by an opponent’s dropback attempts.
The Packers must find creative ways to improve because they didn’t add proven pass rushers in the offseason. Their main free-agent move involving a player on the front seven was allowing T.J. Slaton to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Green Bay did add three defensive linemen in the final day of the draft by selecting Texas’ Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round, Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver in the fifth and Georgia’s Warren Brinson in the sixth.
Perhaps their biggest offseason move to address the pass rush was the hiring of defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington to replace the fired Jason Rebrovich, who now is an assistant defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Covington spent the last eight seasons in New England and was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator in 2024.
“He’s just a leader of men,” defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness said. “We’ve started doing handshakes at the beginning of every meeting, just building that camaraderie. I think when you want to play for the guy next to you on the field, it’s a brotherhood. Together when we’re one, that’s when we’re the best.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl