The NFL offseason is all about decisions; every team is making decisions they hope will lead to winning a Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers have already started their decision-making process for the offseason, and soon, they will have a big decision to make regarding 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness.
With three seasons completed for Van Ness, Green Bay must now decide if it wants to pick up the defensive lineman's fifth-year option.
That one-year option will officially be worth $14.475 million, and the Packers have until May 1 to decide what they want to do. However, the team shouldn't need that long to make a decision. After Van Ness' first three seasons, Green Bay probably isn't going to pick up his fifth-year option at that number.
Packers have an easy decision on Lukas Van Ness' fifth-year option
Van Ness has been a contributor for Green Bay in his young career, but he has largely underwhelmed, considering that he was the 13th overall pick. As a rookie, the defensive lineman played in all 17 games, recording just four sacks, 24 tackles, and eight for a loss. Playing in all 17 games again in year two, his numbers slightly dipped to three sacks, 33 tackles, and just six tackles for a loss.
In 2025, Van Ness was limited to just nine games, 1.5 sacks, 19 total tackles, and three tackles for a loss, as a foot injury kept him out of the other eight games of the season. Additionally, of the 43 games he played for Green Bay over the last three years, he only started two.
So when the Packers decide whether or not they want to pick up his fifth-year option, they will be deciding if they want to pay a contributing, depth defensive lineman nearly $14.5 million for one season. The answer will most likely be no. That shouldn't be viewed as Green Bay giving up on Van Ness, though. It will just be a challenge issued to the young defender to go out and prove his value to the Packers.
If his fifth-year option is ultimately denied, that would make 2026 a contract year for him. Van Ness will have to play his best football and remain healthy throughout the season in order to secure a contract beyond 2026.