3 Pass-rushers Packers should target to help replace Za’Darius Smith

The Green Bay Packers will be without Za’Darius Smith for a long time and possibly for the rest of the 2021 season. Who could they target to replace him?

After playing in the devastating Week 1 loss to the Saints, the Green Bay Packers elected to shut star pass-rusher Za’Darius Smith down for at least a few weeks with a lingering back injury, placing the veteran on IR. However, a few weeks is now looking like a lot longer.

Smith underwent back injury as his recovery was not progressing otherwise. While initial reports suggested that he could return in the 2021 season, there are now reports that Green Bay is expecting to be without the 29-year-old for the rest of the year.

The Packers aren’t absurdly thin at outside linebacker and with pass rushers as they have veteran Preston Smith and 2019 first-round pick Rashan Gary that can come in and start with the other Smith out. With that said, the pass rush has struggled quite a bit this season and Green Bay might need to explore bringing in some reinforcements.

Here are three players (two free agents and one trade candidate) who the Packers could target to bolster the pass rush without Za’Darius Smith on the field.

Za’Darius Smith replacements the Packers should target for 2021

3. Trent Murphy, Free Agent

Trent Murphy is far from an exceptional player but, if the Packers are simply looking for a stopgap veteran who can be effective as a rotational player, the 30-year-old would make a ton of sense given his experience and versatility.

Murphy spent three years in Washington and three more in Buffalo (in seasons where he saw the field). He has just 11.0 sacks over the last three years with the Bills but did have 17 tackles for loss and 24 QB hits over that span as well. As a third option behind Smith and Gary, Murphy could be a versatile and capable body to get out on the field.

2. Adrian Clayborn, Free Agent 

In a similar vein to Murphy, there has never been a point in Adrian Clayborn’s career where you’d mistake him for a superstar, save for his six-sack performance against the Cowboys while with the Falcons a few years ago. But the 33-year-old veteran proved in Cleveland last season that he can still be a serviceable cog in the front seven.

As a rotational end for the Browns, Clayborn had 3.5 sacks, 7 QB hits and three tackles for loss on the season, making an impact on limited snaps. To help spell Gary and Smith in Green Bay, giving that type of production as a depth piece would be quite valuable for the Packers.

1. Clelin Ferrell, Raiders

Despite his status as a former first-round pick, Clelin Ferrell hasn’t lived up to that hype. In fact, he’s not been close and has struggled to even get on the field this season with the Raiders, playing only 14.98 percent of the snaps and being a healthy scratch in Week 1.

With that said, Ferrell came out of Clemson as a safe pick because, though he’s not an exceptional athlete or dominant physical specimen but due to the fact that he’s a balanced, technically sound player. Perhaps a change of scenery could help unlock a bit more from the former top-five pick while the Packers would also get a player who fills a void in the pass rusher rotation.