The Packers are set to sign edge rusher Whitney Mercilus, according to Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk790 (on Twitter). The deal is not yet official but it’s expected to be finalized sometime this week. 
The Texans cut on Monday after weeks of using the veteran in a noticeably reduced role. Despite the drop in snaps, the 31-year-old still put up solid numbers — 12 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss, and three QB hits. The Texans chose to roll with Jon Greenard and Jacob Martin at defensive end instead, leading Mercilus to his new NFL home.
Up until now, Mercilus had spent his entire nine-plus-year career in Houston. He’s started in 102 of his 132 games for Houston while ranking second in franchise history — behind J.J. Watt — in sacks (57), forced fumbles (13), tackles for loss (72), and QB hits (115).
Mercilus will help fill in for Za’Darius Smith, who remains sidelined with a back injury. Meanwhile, he’ll have a chance to move back to his native outside linebacker position, rather than DE.
Solid pickup
Well I be damned….here I said on his initial release “if GB had the salary cap…”
Gonna be a good day tater.
This is a great pickup-but I still feel strange that the Packers couldn’t find some way to work that Gilmore trade while proceeding to sign both Mercilus and Smith (to small deals, but still seems odd).
It’s good that Gutekunst is actually putting in some effort to make the defense competitive. He still made some big mistakes in the offseason (King re-signing for instance) but he seems to be making some good moves midseason, at least in my mind.
No (late round) draft pick required for Smith and Mercy-less. Gute loves his late round picks, and already gave 1 up for Cobb.
True, but apparently they were willing to give up the necessary pick for Gilmore. It was a cap thing for Green Bay. Maybe there truly was nothing they could do, but it still seems odd to hear that and see other signings. Of course, the King re-up and P. Smith contract (he did do a big restructure, as did several others) are impactful there, not to mention the weird decision not to restructure Rodgers. Like I said though, these seem like quality and low risk moves on the Packers’ part overall from a random fan’s perspective. I do like the Mercilus signing for depth and the Smith signing as low cost options.
Certainly worth a shot. With Za’Darius down for who knows how long, picking up a veteran for minimal assets $$$ is a no brainer. I’ll assume Packers will use him at his preferred OLB position instead of a down lineman/end. Solid move that contenders make.
Great spot for him. To bad the packers missed on Gilmore, they would’ve had a truely elite experienced defence to go with a nice offence
Jealous. Nice pick up