The Green Bay Packers announced on Thursday that they were picking up the fifth-year option on 2023 first-round draft pick Lukas Van Ness. That means the Iowa alum will be playing for the Packers in 2027 on a one-year, fully guaranteed contract worth an estimated $14.5 million. However, unless GM Brian Gutekunst signs Van Ness to a long-term extension before the start of the 2027 campaign, the Packers made a mistake by picking up Lukas Van Ness’ fifth-year option.

The Packers Made a Mistake Picking Up Lukas Van Ness’ Fifth-Year Option: His Career So Far

The Packers selected Van Ness with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They knew when they drafted him that he would need some time to develop his game. While Van Ness earned the nickname “Hercules” for his size and athleticism, he was a raw talent who needed to develop secondary pass rush moves to fully develop into an effective NFL player.

In his first three seasons with the Packers, Van Ness has seen limited playing time. He recorded a career-high four sacks as a rookie along with 10 quarterback hits and eight tackles for loss. He has yet to match any of those numbers.

In his second season, Van Ness played through an injured thumb that hampered his ability to use one hand when fighting off blockers. He recorded three sacks, six quarterback hits and six tackles for loss despite playing more snaps than he did the previous season.

In 2025, injuries limited Van Ness to nine games. He started two games, the first two starts of his NFL career. In this limited action, he recorded 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits and three tackles for loss.

In three seasons in the league, Van Ness has yet to play 50 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in games he’s played in.

Expectations for This Season

Van Ness will be expected to take on a larger role this season. After the Packers traded Rashan Gary to the Cowboys over the offseason, Van Ness will be the presumptive starter at one of the edge rushing positions.

Furthermore, with Micah Parsons expected to miss the first few games of the season as he continues to rehab from knee surgery, Van Ness will likely be relied upon to be the team’s primary edge rusher for the first few games of the season.

This will be Van Ness’ chance to prove he’s ready to take on a big role on defense and can produce results on the field.

Obviously, Gutekunst did not have the luxury of waiting to see how Van Ness performs this season before deciding on the fifth-year option. He could only base his decision on what Van Ness has done so far and what he believes he will do going forward.

The Packers Made a Mistake Picking Up Lukas Van Ness’ Fifth-Year Option: Long Term

Through three NFL seasons, Van Ness has not shown enough production to justify the $14.5 million salary he will receive in 2027 under the option. Just like when he drafted him, Gutekunst will be counting on Van Ness to turn potential into production for him to live up to this contact.

The more beneficial decision for the Packers would be to sign Van Ness to a multi-year extension which could lower his 2027 cap hit and keep Van Ness in a Packers uniform for several seasons. By doing that, Gutekunst could spread out part of his money as a signing bonus across the life of the contract and reduce the cap hit to a more reasonable amount. Van Ness would benefit because he would get his bonus money up front.

Gutekunst’s decision to pick up Van Ness’ fifth-year option is ultimately a gamble. Van Ness remains a talented physical specimen with a lot of potential. But in three years, he recorded just one more sack than Gary recorded last season and the Packers moved on from Gary because of his late-season slump and lack of production.

It will be up to Van Ness to prove that Gutekunst’s gamble was the right move. Hopefully, a long-term extension at a more reasonable cap hit will work out for both player and team in the long run.

 

 

 

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