For some players, training camp can feel like going through the motions. For others, it’s an essential opportunity to prove their worth. As Brenton Cox Jr. enters his fourth year in the league, he might be kicking off his most important training camp to date.
Brenton Cox came on to the scene in 2024 after the Packers traded veteran Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After being a healthy scratch up until Smith was dealt, Cox racked up four sacks and seven quarterback hits in six games to finish the year strong.
Entering last season, Cox was a buzzy name even after the trade to land Micah Parsons. But then injuries reared their ugly head — for Parsons, most prominently, but also a groin injury derailed most of Cox’s season.
Green Bay and Cox came to terms on a one-year deal to keep him in the fold for 2026, and now it’s time to make the most of his deferred opportunity, but the current picture creates an immense opportunity for Cox.
Parsons’ timeline to return has been stretched; what was once hoped to be a brief absence at the start of the year is now looking more like the first half of the season. Meanwhile, Rashan Gary now plays for the Dallas Cowboys thanks to the deal that brought Parsons to Green Bay, and Kingsley Enagbare left for the New York Jets. With all those shuffling parts, the door is wide open for Cox.
Because of his former first-round draft status, Lukas Van Ness is bearing the brunt of the expectations in Parsons’ absence. Yet his season-high sack total is the same as Cox’s (four). And Van Ness’s situation on the depth chart is highly uncertain.
Cox will be in the mix, as will fourth- and fifth-round picks from a year ago, respectively, in Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver. Green Bay used another fourth-round pick on the position this April on Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton. At least for a brief while, that leaves Van Ness and Cox looking like wily veterans in a young, unproven position group.
Cox will get a long look in training camp to claim a starting spot until Parsons returns. He worked with the No. 1 group at times during OTAs, and he stood out. Now he’ll try to carry that momentum into training camp in July, and he’s clear-eyed about the mission.
“A lot of the guys have had to pick up the slack since Micah has been out,” Cox said. “And, you know, that’s what we’re here to do. I definitely think I’m talented enough to pick up the slack and get to the quarterback.”
Cox reflected on his injury-riddled 2025 season and put an optimistic spin on it, noting that he knows what he did in 2024 — which he demonstrated again in his strong Week 18 performance against the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 — was part of a trend, not an aberration.
“I played hard, got hurt. It happens,” Cox said. “This year, just a better opportunity for me to show it again. You know, it wasn’t a fluke. It’s who I am, it’s who I’ve been on all levels of football. So, it’s great to be out there again and have another chance at it.”
After going undrafted in 2023 and joining the Packers as a UFDA, Cox’s goal was to scratch out a roster spot by any means necessary. He was camped out on the practice squad early and played just four snaps as a rookie in 2023.
Brenton Cox made the most of his first big chance to prove his worth in 2024, and after a mostly lost 2025, the bar is set much higher. Now the goal isn’t just to survive in training camp, but to thrive. He has a real shot to go from undrafted free agent in 2023 to a seldom-used reserve, to a rotational piece, and now to a starter in 2026.
