Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Just 3.0 sacks in second season
Rotowire
Van Ness finished the 2024 season with 33 tackles (22 solo), including 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 17 regular-season contests.
The 13th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Van Ness' second pro season virtually mirrored his first. He appeared in all 17 games (zero starts) and upped his tackles number by a mere one, while his sack total dipped from 4.0 as a rookie to 3.0 in his second season. After playing 33 percent of the defensive snaps in 2023, Van Ness was up to 39 percent this past season. The Packers are likely hoping for a third-year leap from Van Ness in 2025. Green Bay could use a more productive edge rusher opposite Rashan Gary.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Questionable to return Thursday
Rotowire
Van Ness (thumb) is questionable to return to Thursday night's matchup with the Lions, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
Van Ness suffered a thumb injury in the first half of Thursday's contest with Detroit, placing some doubt on his ability to return to the field. In his absence, Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox stand to see an increase in workload on the defensive line.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Back at practice
Rotowire
Van Ness (thumb) returned to practice at OTAs on Tuesday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.
Van Ness missed some time while recovering from a thumb fracture, but he's already back on the field. The 2023 first-round pick is coming off a rookie campaign in which he racked up 32 tackles (24 solo) and four sacks across 17 regular-season appearances.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Dealing with thumb injury
Rotowire
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that Van Ness is dealing with a broken thumb, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.
LaFleur didn't specify when Van Ness suffered the injury, but he downplayed the severity of the issue by saying that the edge rusher "broke his thumb just a little bit." The 2023 first-round pick sat out Green Bay's voluntary OTA session Wednesday, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, so it will be worth monitoring his involvement by the start of the team's mandatory minicamp June 11. Van Ness recorded 32 tackles and four sacks over 17 regular-season games during his rookie season.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Ends with 4.0 sacks
Rotowire
Van Ness tallied 32 tackles (24 solo), 4.0 sacks and a pass defended over 17 games in the 2023 regular season.
Van Ness filled a complementary role for much of his rookie season, but he made his presence felt late in the campaign, racking up 3.0 sacks over the final six games of the regular season and another in Green Bay's playoff opener. Van Ness was taken with the 13th pick in the 2023 Draft, so the Packers figure to give him more opportunities in his second campaign.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Limited at practice
Rotowire
Van Ness (elbow) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Kassidy Hill of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Van Ness left Sunday's 25-24 loss at Atlanta early after sustaining an elbow injury, and it looks like the injury could affect his status for Week 3. The good news for him is that he still gets two more opportunities to practice in full before the Packers' final injury report is posted Friday.
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Packers' Lukas Van Ness: Suffers elbow injury Sunday
Rotowire
Van Ness is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Falcons due to an elbow injury.
Van Ness had two tackles, including one for loss, before leaving the contest. He was injured while trying to bring down Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier. The severity of the injury remains unclear, but in Van Ness' absence, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins are candidates for increased roles.
