Green Bay Packers defensive end Barryn Sorrell (99) tackles Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler during the first half of a game on Jan. 4. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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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.
LaFleur, entering his eighth season, is also the longest-tenured coach in the NFL that hasn’t taken a team to the Super Bowl.
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. 29 is edge rusher Barryn Sorrell.
No. 29
Barryn Sorrell, DE
Last season
Sorrell, a fourth round draft pick in 2025, played 14 games and 15.9% of the defensive snaps in 2025.
Sorrell entered Week 18 with just seven tackles in 13 games, two quarterback hurries and no sacks. Sorrell had faded to black down the stretch, too, and was a healthy scratch twice in December — even with fellow defensive end Micah Parsons lost for the season.
Then in Week 18 at Minnesota, Sorrell had eight tackles, a sack and recovered a fumble. Sorrell also stoned running back Ty Chandler for a 1-yard loss on third-and-1 late in the first quarter, forcing a Minnesota punt.
“It didn’t catch me off guard because that’s been my message to myself throughout this whole process, just being patient and working and everything else will take care of itself,” Sorrell said that day. “When I knew it was going to be my time, it wasn’t anything I had to do different. It was just like this is what I’ve been waiting on now. Time to go cut it loose.”
Career to date
Sorrell had 15.5 sacks during his four years at Texas. He also had 20.5 tackles for loss and 132 total tackles.
Sorrell ran the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds coming out of college, had a 34-inch vertical jump and did 28 reps on the 225-pound bench press before the Packers selected him in the fourth round in April, 2025.
Outlook
With star edge rusher Micah Parsons (ACL, meniscus) expected to be out until at least mid-October, Sorrell has a golden opportunity to make an impact.
While Lukas Van Ness will likely be one starting edge rusher, the other job is wide open.
Sorrell will have a chance to win that job during training camp. Sorrell prepared for the opportunity by working out with Parsons this offseason in Dallas for roughly six weeks.
“It just speaks to my potential,” Sorrell said. “Obviously, I know that the best is still yet in front of me and, obviously, what (Parsons) has seen in me, he let me know that. So, I’m going to just keep going to work, keep trying to get better and improve and help this team win games.”
They said it …
“There’s not really any pressure for me. I know this is what I was born to do. This is what I look forward to doing. I’m just blessed to be in this position and I’m excited about the opportunity. There’s really no pressure. This is a privilege. I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited for it. I’m ready to get it going.” — Sorrell on the opportunity he’ll have in 2026
“Barryn, he already has the mindset that he’s going to be a top-tier player, and I love that about him.”— Packers defensive end Micah Parsons on Sorrell
“I feel like I’m in a really good position compared to last year, rookie year, a lot of things going on. Being able to just settle myself down, learn from the things I put on film last year and put it together so I can have a better year this year.” — Sorrell on being ahead of where he was in 2025