The Green Bay Packers are bringing back edge rusher Justin Hollins on a one-year deal. Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team was the first to report the re-signing.
A posting on Twitter from Hollins appeared to confirm the report.
Hollins (6-5, 248) was claimed off waivers by the Packers from the Los Angeles Rams in November of last year. The 27-year-old went on to play in six games for the Packers, producing nine pressures, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and three tackles for loss over 128 snaps on defense and eight more on special teams.
Among his highlight plays were a sack of Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia and a sack of Baker Mayfield during a Monday night win at Lambeau Field. He played at least 14 snaps in all six games for the Packers in 2022.
Hollins is experienced in Joe Barry’s style of defense and will provide experienced depth behind expected starters Preston Smith and Rashan Gary in 2023. He could even play important snaps early in the year if the Packers are cautious with Gary, who tore his ACL in Week 9 last season and isn’t guaranteed to be ready for a full-time role by Week 1 in 2023.
An unrestricted free agent, Hollins visited the New York Giants on Wednesday before agreeing to return to Green Bay.
Signing Hollins to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal should not prevent the Packers from investing a high draft pick at edge rusher, a premium position.
Hollins was originally a fifth-round pick of the Rams in 2019. He’s played in 55 career games and has 9.5 career sacks.
