(Editor's Note: As part of the preparation for training camp, this series will introduce 25 players who are new to the Cowboys' roster, rookies and veterans alike. We'll continue with outside linebacker Rashan Gary.)
How He Got Here: With the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Rashan Gary out of Michigan. Gary has spent the last seven seasons in Green Bay, playing in 106 total games for the Packers and starting 74. Following two sacks in his rookie season, Gary has posted at least five sacks in every year of his career, with his career high of 9.5 coming in 2021. Just before the start of the new league year, the Cowboys traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to Green Bay for Gary, ensuring he didn't reach the free agent market and adding a veteran to their pass rushing unit.
What's Next: The Cowboys' pass rush department struggled to bring down the quarterback consistently in 2025. Gary is one of the players that Dallas has brought in to fix that, and he's expected to have a large role in turning the room around. Some of his teammates like Malachi Lawrence have already praised his leadership ability, and he'll also need to lead by example on the field when games come around. Gary has had 7.5 sacks in each of the last two years, but went the final 10 games of the Packers' season without bringing down the quarterback. If Gary can find the consistency across an entire season with his usually yearly sack numbers, it'll be a big boost for Christian Parker's defense.
Did You Know…
- In coming to Dallas, Gary will reunite with three familiar faces. DC Christian Parker, who spent two years with Gary in Green Bay as a defensive quality control coach, defensive pass game coordinator/DBs coach Derrick Ansley who was in a similar role with the Packers, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who he played with for six years.
- After wearing the number 52 with the Packers, Gary changed his number over the offseason to 7, which he's never worn in his collegiate or professional career. The last Cowboy to wear 7 was CB Trevon Diggs, who Gary briefly played with in Green Bay.
- In his final season in Green Bay, Gary posted 47 pressures, good for second on the team to go along with 7.5 sacks, which was also second-best on the team and would have been second on the Cowboys' defense in 2025 behind Jadeveon Clowney.
