Beating the Green Bay Packers’ pass rush has become routine for opposing quarterbacks:

• Get the play in the headset.
• Pass it on to the offense.
• Get set, take the snap, and go through the progressions.
• Pick up the phone, send Thanksgiving invitations on the family group chat, and make the dinner list.
• Put the phone down, go back to reading the progressions, and then throw the ball.

That’s the usual drill, unless you’re a mayo addict.

Per ESPN, Green Bay ranks 29th in pass-rush win rate. From a production standpoint, it made sense for them to target a pass rusher at the trade deadline. However, Brian Gutekunst traded Preston Smith and made no additions. Later, we learned that Smith had requested a trade.

Green Bay’s edge room now consists of Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, J.J. Enagbare, Arron Mosby, and Brenton Cox. Gary leads the group with 365 snaps, followed by Enagbare with 242, Van Ness with 232, Mosby with seven, and Cox with none.

Smith entered Week 9 with only 10 pressures and his lowest pressure rate since 2020. The key for the Packers isn’t replacing his production but adjusting to life without a player who logged a high volume of snaps. Smith played 308 defensive snaps for Green Bay in 2024 and led Green Bay’s edge room in snap count for the past three seasons.

The most obvious move is to rely more on Van Ness. In his debut, he recorded five pressures against the Chicago Bears but has managed only six pressures across nine games in 2024. His pass-rush win rate is the lowest among Green Bay’s edge defenders.

However, if they give most of the snaps to one player, it will likely be Enagbare. He has outproduced Van Ness in every pass-rushing category and has been the better run defender. Enagbare’s missed-tackle rate on run plays is 5.6%, compared to Van Ness’ 15.8%.

The most likely scenario is a rotation among Enagbare, Van Ness, Cox, and Mosby. In his midseason press conference, a reporter asked Gutekunst if Mosby needed more snaps in the four-man rotation or if he or Cox had shown enough to handle that role.

We’re excited to see both of those guys get more snaps. I certainly think they’ve earned it. They did a nice job in training camp and have kept that up in practice. Mosby has been solid on special teams, and Bren’s eager to get out there, and we’re eager to see him.

Green Bay can’t afford for Van Ness or Enagbare to get injured. Mosby and Cox have only seven combined snaps this year. While there’s no proof they can’t handle significant snaps, there’s also no evidence they can.

Another solution is to let Cheeseheads Brazil legend Karl Brooks rush off the edge more often. He played a few snaps in that role against the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars and found ways to be disruptive. And no, this definitely isn’t my bias towards him talking.

Rashan Gary practicing his crossover and KARL BROOKS winning on the edge pic.twitter.com/B4ortrrvcQ

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 31, 2024

The Packers need to explore all options. Their pass rush has been nearly non-existent, aside from the Tennessee game. They need a spark for a unit that should feel a strong urgency to deliver results.