Paul Bretl | 9/3/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Bittersweet. When the news broke that the Packers were trading for Micah Parsons, there was a whirlwind of emotions for many.
On one hand, the Packers just added one of the game’s most dominant defenders to an already stout defensive unit. However, to do so, along with trading away two first-round draft picks, Green Bay had to part with Kenny Clark.
“What an exceptional player, exceptional person,” GM Brian Gutekunst said of Clark. “Really hard to see him go, but there was really no way around it. That was the one thing that was going to be part of this trade no matter what for them.”
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Still not even 30 years old, Clark was about to embark on his 10th season with the Packers. On the field, he was a stalwart in the middle of the Packers’ defensive front during that span, which includes making three Pro Bowls.
Throughout his playing career, Clark has been durable and almost always available. Since the 2019 season, he’s missed just four games and has appeared in every game over the last three seasons–even in 2024, when he played through a foot injury for much of the year.
Clark was effective both against the run and as a pass rusher. At various points in his playing career, he was among PFF’s highest-graded run defenders while also having multiple seasons of 60-plus quarterback pressures, one of which came as recently as 2023.
“What a rare, rare, rare opportunity to get a guy of his caliber,” Matt LaFleur said of Parsons. “Now, I will say, for me it’s extremely bittersweet because Kenny Clark, since the day I got hired here, I want to say I think he’s the last guy that was on the roster when I was hired.
LaFleur continued, “Obviously a great player and as a great of a player as he is, I believe he’s an even better person, and I think you guys probably feel the same way in terms of just, he is going to treat everybody with the utmost respect and he is revered in that locker room. So it is bittersweet when you lose a player not only of that caliber but just the type of leader he was for our locker room.”
Clark was never the most vocal leader that the Packers had in their locker room, but his actions spoke volumes. From how he watched film, attacked practices, went through his recovery and treatment, Clark set the example for how to be a pro and how to put yourself in the best position to be successful on Sundays.
Rookie Nazir Stackhouse was only able to spend about four months with Clark, but he made a quick impression on the first-year player in how he approaches being an NFL player. As Stackhouse said, when facing decisions moving forward, this is a ‘What Would Kenny Do?’ type situation–“the standard is still the standard,” he added.
Clark’s presence expanded beyond the football field and Lambeau facilities–his house was always open to his teammates.
During OTAs and minicamp, the defensive line unit would gather at Clark’s house weekly to watch film and then relax and watch the NBA Finals or whatever else was on.
Colby Wooden said on Monday that he is a regular at Clark’s house, hanging out there almost “every other day.”
For many in this Packers locker room, but especially within the defensive tackle unit, Clark was like a big brother.
“For me, it’s a shock of reality,” Wooden said. “Like, my first couple years, we’ve been blessed with, I don’t want to say a false reality, but we’ve been in our own little bubble. But this is a business, and transactions do go down. So for us, we’ve just got to keep playing ball.
“We know what to do. He was with me my first two years. I’ve got to trust the coaching I get from DC and also go back to the things I talked about with my big bro.”
Like Wooden said, the NFL is a business at the end of the day. And an unfortunate element of that is parting with players who have been key figures within the organization–like Clark.
However, in that same breath, this is a move that Gutekunst should make 10 out of 10 times. Two things can be true at once–Clark’s impact on this Packers team can’t be overstated, but acquiring Parsons was the right play, given where this team currently stands.
Without Clark, there is now a much greater opportunity for everyone else at the defensive line position. Devonte Wyatt will be leading the way, while Wooden and Karl Brooks’ roles will expand greatly. The same can be said for Stackhouse and Warren Brinson as well.
“We love Kenny around here,” Brooks said. “He’s a great player, great mentor, great leader, everything. You can’t stop saying enough great things about him. But just to go out there at that level and perform and go out there and get after it, I’m excited. I’m blessed for this opportunity just to get more reps, more snaps, so just excited.”