Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper chases Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
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The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.
Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.
Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.
“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.
Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.
Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.
Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.
“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.
Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn’t have a first round draft pick.
Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.
At No. 4 is linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
No. 4
Edgerrin Cooper, LB
Last season
Cooper started all 16 contests he played and finished first on the team in solo tackles (63) and second in total tackles (117). Cooper added two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, four tackles for a loss, three quarterback hits, four passes defensed and seven pressures.
Cooper had just 0.5 sacks, though, down from 3.5 his rookie year.
Cooper earned a 75.7 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 16th among 88 qualified linebackers. His coverage grade of 76.5 ranked seventh and his run-defense grade of 69.0 ranked 39th.
His pass-rush grade of 66.7 ranked 35th among qualified linebackers.
Career to date
Cooper missed time during training camp as a rookie in 2024, then averaged just 14 snaps per game the first four weeks of that season. He made dramatic strides, though, and finished his year with 13 tackles for loss — which led all NFL linebackers and all rookies.
“He’s special, man,” former Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare said of Cooper. “I feel like he’s a future Hall of Famer.”
Cooper was second on the Packers in 2024 with four turnover plays, fifth in sacks (3.5), fifth in passes defensed (four) and sixth in tackles (77). Cooper was also the only player in the NFL with 75-plus tackles, 13-plus tackles for loss, three-plus sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Amazingly, Cooper did all of that while playing just 45.1% of the defensive snaps.
“When he was on the field, he was dynamic and it changed our football team,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Cooper.
Outlook
A recent ESPN poll that surveyed NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked Cooper as the No. 9 off-ball linebacker in football.
Cooper has all the physical gifts imaginable, and ran the 40-yard dash in a sizzling 4.51 seconds at the 2024 NFL Combine.
Cooper has the skill set to blitz, cover, and pursue from sideline to sideline. He could the most dangerous chess piece defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has until Micah Parsons returns.
Green Bay’s pass rush without Parsons is suspect, at best. So don’t be surprised if Gannon sends Cooper after quarterbacks more than former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley did.
“Yeah, they’re two different coordinators so I might be in different situations,” Cooper said. “They think differently, so it’s going to be different.”
They said it …
“I think Coop is a great player. I think he’s had a great, you know, first couple of years. Since I’ve been here, he’s done an excellent job of competing, working hard, obviously taking to the coaching points that we’ve been talking about in the meetings. I’m excited about all the guys … and Coop’s just a part of that puzzle.” — Packers linebackers coach Sam Siefkes on Cooper
“I don’t want to be slept on no more or any of that. That’s all I look for. But I just want to do what I do. I feel like my second year had a little slump early in the season, but it happens. It’s about how you respond. I felt like I did a good job responding, played decent ball at the end of the season. I’m just ready to elevate.”— Cooper on his goals in 2026
“When I first got traded I watched a bunch of the Green Bay games just to kind of get familiar with my teammates and just watching (Cooper) make play after play and be physical, and making plays in coverage, I just feel like our games truly marry perfectly. He’s long, he’s rangy, he’s running, and obviously and I’m striking, but I’m also setting the front and getting everything together too, so allowing him to be the best version of himself.” — Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin on Cooper