From your lips, er, fingertips, to God's ear.

There are more deserving players waiting in the wings to be rewarded for their production.

Van Ness hasn't even earned the right to stand in line.

I say pick up his option.
Wyatt is gone after this year.
The packers have to keep drafting the trench.
The obvious is injuries.
The other is; No one is ready to take
his place.
It buys time for the next guy.
But the main reason is you never have enough
pass rushers.
Somebody will give him that 15mil. plus.
Hopefully it's Green Bay.

At $15.4M LVN would be the 30th highest paid Edge. I think OTC has LVN projected at $13.75M which would make him 34th highest paid. Note that several guys will get paid in 2027 so LVN is likely to drop a few spots.

I don't feel strongly about this. I would pick up the extension until one or two of Cox. Sorrell, DDS, etc., pass LVN on the depth chart.

LVN is an interesting situation. The Packers have the upper hand here especially after drafting DDS. DDS is a small version of LVN. He does not have the twitch to be a top rusher yet but he does play the run well. The one major difference is that LVN might never get better where DDS has the potential to get better. I say the Packers will if they have not put a low ball two year deal on the table to LVN and if he decides not to take it they will show him the door. There are too many players waiting to play.

I thought Parson's said he was going to miss only one game. And I said he would probably not be ready for half the season. Looks like it is trending my way. Maybe he should have had the operation right away like Mahommes.

At this point the Packers can not pick up the option ... Looks like LVN has fallen into the dreaded ( tweener ) category although strong and lengthy not explosive enough to be a constant edge threat, and not quite heavy or physical enough to be an effective every down defensive tackle. My guess in todays draft value LVN would be a late second early third round pick... Maybe he will read this CHHD article and prove me wrong :]

He wasn’t very good in a4-3 defense and he’s completely unsuited for Gannon’s 3-4. He’s Nick Perry 2.0. Money better spent elsewhere.

Offer him a two year extension for $20 mil. If healthy he would be worth keeping. What's the use of drafting and developing if you cut bait before he's developed?

At best, LVN has been erratic. Consistency would have me thinking it would be worth the extenstion, but as of now, no.

Even when LVN has played, he's always had other minor injury designations. I don't think we've really seen much of what a "healthy" LVN can provide.

That's what makes this situation so unsettling. What can the guy actually do when he's healthy? I don't know.

I have to assume the personnel coaches have access to performance grades of "healthy" vs "nicked up".

Then the question becomes, "Is the healthy version worth paying Top 30 money?"

And also, "Are his injuries flukes or is he just one of those guys who's always nicked up?"

Paying him or letting him hit the market is going to be a gamble either way. They have a lot invested in him.

It will probably come down to if they are confident in the guys behind him on the depth chart.

We'll find out pretty soon.

Never high on LVN and felt he was over-drafted by Gutey.

Now the decision is whether or not to reward him with a $14 M 5th year...as a reward for what, exactly? Being a first rounder 3 years ago? Pay him as a reward for his high RAS score? Showing some flashes over the last 3 years averaging less than 3 sacks a year as a DE/Edge?

Let's see what Sorrell, DDS, Cox, and Oliver can do before giving LVN a $14 M participation stipend.

No to the extension. LVN has shown very little over his first 3 seasons. If he breaks outs during the 2026 season great. He can be extended later in the season. If he has another season similar to his first 3 seasons chuck him. I think that Cox, Sorrell or DDS will pass him on the depth chart during the upcoming season.
Thanks, Since '61

Van Ness was a project coming out of college. The classic "draft and develop" player the Packers like to take. But to develop, the player also needs good coaching. And that is where the Packers failed. They fired Jason Rebrovich after three dismal seasons, and it was reported on CHTV that the new coach, Marcus Covington, was the first to try to teach Van Ness some different moves (the "swim move", for example) that LVN had never known about. If the coaching is sub-par for a player who needs to be taught some basics, the results will show up on the field through lack of production. Last season, new coaching, a better result. Sometimes the player just isn't good enough. But other times, the player is not taught the basics, and doesn't perform on the field. Give him another year under the new DL coach, Vince Oghobaase, under Covington's and Gannon's watchful eyes, and make a decision.

Remember one fact about LVN: he was not a starter at Iowa. He was the third defensive end. Fast forward to the Packers: he's in the same situation. I suspect LVN would have been available in round two that year. Like his mentors Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, Gute has a tendency to not do well with first rounders but clean up in the mid-to-lower rounds.

LVN might be trade bait at some point but is not worth $15 mill a year, at least now. Gannon might salvage his career in Green Bay.

This is a tough one. His production so far does not suggest he is worthy of getting the fifth year option, but he improved last year. Unfortunately, his season was interrupted by injuries. I lean slightly toward giving him the option. I view him as an ascending player who is worth locking in through the 2027 season. That means two years of Parsons, LVN, and the younger guys (except Cox, who could leave after this season). I think that is a good core to have at OLB, with LVN as the #2 player in that group. I keep coming back to the idea that you don't pay players on past production, you pay them on their potential.

Obviously, we are having this discussion because LVN was an ill-fated first round decision and a decision has to be made on the 5th year of his contract. Let's look at this a different way. Would Gutey even be thinking about another year and more money if LVN was a 6th round pick, because we would expect more production and availability out of any drafted player to even consider more time and money? I think LVN would be in the "can we trade him for anything to recoup some value" equation. Not "Let's throw some more money at him" and see if that works.

I would hope the fact that Gutey has made a bad draft pick, a first round pick to boot, and that should be no factor in deciding on the extension. The fact that LVN and the other backup Edges we have on the team have done virtually nothing to this point, is exactly why adding an Edge rusher either in the draft or free agency was imperative. I would love for Cox to stay healthy and see what he can do, but DDS has the best chance to be a difference maker out of LVN, Cox, Sorrell, and the other 2 this year. And even if DDS is a little rough, no teams will have tape on him this year and he will be morphing as the year goes on under Parson's guidance.

A huge NO to a $14 million "participation" bonus for LVN. and come on, he should be smart enough to realize he has done nothing to deserve it. Offer a 2 year @ $4 million and incentives to get to $6 million. LVN will have to realize he is young enough to get another higher $$ contract but he is going to have to earn it.

I would not give him the raise/extension at this point simply because he doesn't deserve it. Secondarily, the fact that we're still taking about "potential" after three years indicates his development has progressed at a glacial rate, so how much longer is it going to take? Okay, he occasionally makes some nice plays in the running game with pusuit, but that aint worth $15 million. Let's see what we have with our current rotation and newly drafted DDS, and if we're still lacking, take another swing in the draft--hopefully with a lesson learned.

There's a reason that they should pick it up and a reason why they shouldn't.

Should...lack of depth.
Shouldn't...relying on others to step up.

Neither has GB in a good position.

GB just picked up the 5th year option ... Gute is going to show the NFL why he was so smart to select LVN over JSN, Christian Gonzalez, and Will McDonald.

In Gute we must trust.

So not enough faith in depth to let him play it out. Not enough confidence in him to extend him. If he is the same as last year we are stuck. If he breaks out we will be facing the same dilemma next year. They just opted for safe and it says a lot about their faith in depth.

Not a surprise that they picked up the option on Van Ness. It's a lot of money but not ridiculous by today's standards.

Martin's plea falls on deaf ears, as the option is picked up

Apparently the team is not in agreement with your position.

I see the long knives are suddenly moving in against Van Ness, Luckily Gute tends to avoid the noise. Time will tell, I think a healthy Van Nee paired with Parsons will prove the naysayers wrong.

Well, funny this article came out after i made an issue about that, he wasn't going to get it a few days ago.
With multiple thumbs down...but, of course 😁
Then damn....the Packers gave it to him!!!

I'll explain why i think they gave it to him, when the new article comes out.
F... it...i'll do it now, and just paste this over.
********
The first thing that came to mind, is they gave him the 5th year to buy time to see what he does, and 'possibly' offer him a multi year deal, containing 'low risk' to the team.
Remember, the 5th year is a season away.
There is no hurry.

If they do, then something in the line of Reeds deal, but with less guaranteed, less money up front, and a 1 or 2 year get out of jail free card.

Lets be real..LVN doesn't have a lot of leverage here.
What is his agent going to point to, his career high 8.5 sacks, 1 FF?

Not exactly one of the WATT Bros. we're talking about here.
********
The Packers interest?
Well....Gary's gone, Parsons is coming back from injury, and by all accounts, Parsons loves this guy.

Plus he's got great hair and teeth.
Pantz sent me this sexy picture of him....not sure why though.

Moot point now. My guess is that the Packers are dedicated to stopping the run foremost. They were steam rolled by Henry last year, as a lot of teams have been, but 216 yds and 4 TDs is embarrassing. The team was middle of the pack in overall run stoppage. The Packers draft picks look to be run stoppers. Cisse, McClellan, DDS, Jackson. LVN is also a run stopper first before pass rush. I have no problem looking to stop the run first, despite some posters that are fear based of the pass first. The Packers have a good safety group, if used correctly, to stop the big play. So let them make teams one dimensional and stay aggressive against the pass. Mano y mano. It'd be refreshing to see CBs walk up and challenge at the line. No more softness opinion from the opposing teams.