Packers Exercise Fifth-Year Option on Lukas Van Ness, Add Performance-Based Structure After Up-and-Down Season

After a season that fell short of a true breakout, the Green Bay Packers have officially exercised the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness — but not without a message attached. The organization is pairing the decision with what sources describe as a “performance evaluation” framework tied to his continued development.

By activating the option, Green Bay secures Van Ness for the 2027 season at a projected $15.381 million. However, team officials made clear this is not a blank check based on draft status alone — it’s a forward-looking investment grounded in expectation.

Van Ness, the 13th overall pick in 2023, has shown flashes of disruptive potential but has yet to deliver sustained production. Through three seasons, he has recorded 8.5 sacks and 23 quarterback hits, while playing fewer than 40 percent of defensive snaps in any single year. A foot injury limited him to nine games in 2025, interrupting what coaches described as his most consistent stretch.

General manager Brian Gutekunst emphasized that the decision reflects belief in Van Ness’ ceiling rather than frustration with past output. “This is about where we believe he’s headed,” Gutekunst said recently. “We see growth, we see the tools, and now it’s about turning that into consistent impact.”

Internally, the Packers are reportedly structuring expectations around snap share, pass-rush efficiency, and availability — metrics that will heavily influence long-term negotiations beyond 2027. In other words, the option buys time, but the next two seasons will determine whether Van Ness becomes a cornerstone or remains rotational depth.

For Van Ness, the message is clear: potential has been acknowledged, but production must follow.

Green Bay’s defensive rebuild under head coach Matt LaFleur continues to prioritize athletic upside along the front seven. By exercising the option, the Packers avoid risking a premature departure while still placing the responsibility squarely on Van Ness to elevate his game.

The decision signals patience — but not complacency.

In Titletown, development is rewarded. Breakouts are expected. And now, Lukas Van Ness enters the most important stretch of his young career with both opportunity and accountability firmly in place.