Packers Re-Sign Outside Linebacker Justin Hollins

In six games, Justin Hollins had 2.5 sacks. He posted some surprising production compared to some of the NFL’s elite pass rushers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have re-signed free agent outside linebacker Justin Hollins, a source said in confirming the original report by Ari Meirov.

It’s a one-year contract worth $1.2 million, Meirov reported. The minimum base salary for a fifth-year pro is $1.08 million, so Hollins received some bonus money, as well.

Claimed off waivers from the Rams following Rashan Gary’s ACL, Hollins became one of several quality, low-budget finds made by general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Hollins had one sack and three quarterback hits in 10 games (five starts) for the Rams but 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in six games (zero starts) for Green Bay. He sacked Jalen Hurts in his Packers debut and dropped Kirk Cousins in Week 18.

Combined, he set a career high with seven quarterback hits.

According to Pro Football Focus, 111 edge defenders had at least Hollins’ total of 34 pass-rushing opportunities from his Week 12 debut with the Packers through the end of the season. The numbers might surprise you. Among that group, Hollins ranked 22nd in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

For reference, Micah Parsons was 27th, Matthew Judon was 29th and Myles Garrett was 32nd. He tied for 62nd in pass-rush win rate, which isn’t great but was ahead of Travon Walker (71st) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (68th), both of whom were picked in the top 10 of the 2022 draft.

Hollins entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the Broncos in 2019. He has 9.5 sacks in 55 career games with the Broncos, Rams and Packers.

Hollins arrived in Green Bay on Thanksgiving.

“You can’t get your feelings involved, you know? It’s a business at the end of the day,” he said. “So, you come in with a fresh slate, just ready to put in work and whatever happens, happens. You can only control what you can control, and you move forward with the best attitude and put your best foot forward.”

Hollins was part of the Rams team that won the Super Bowl in 2021. He missed a big chunk of the season with a torn pectoral but had a key tackle of Bengals running back Joe Mixon in the Super Bowl, a play that helped set up the game-winning drive.

While with the Rams, he learned some tricks of the trade from Von Miller.

“Definitely some of his pass-rush moves,” Hollins said of what he learned. “There’s some things he was able to teach a lot of us in the room along the way, about little moves here and there and how things really work.”

With Green Bay, Hollins will enter training camp on a depth chart that includes veteran starters Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, promising 2022 fifth-round draft pick Kingsley Enagbare and 2020 seventh-rounder Jonathan Garvin.

Green Bay Packers Free Agency and Draft News

The NFL free agency grades - shockingly - are not kind to the #Packers.
Here's a look at a few sets of grades, plus a look back to what the grades were last year.https://t.co/TQIXgMz8WK

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 23, 2023

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