From a contractual perspective, Kenny Clark's future with the Green Bay Packers remains up in the air. Regardless, don't expect him to be playing anywhere other than Green Bay for the foreseeable future. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed on Monday that the team has every intention of picking up the fifth-year option on Clark's rookie deal, ensuring he would stay with the green and gold for at least one more season.
“I would expect that would happen,” he said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. “He's a dominant player on the defensive front.”
Clark was the 27th overall pick of the 2016 draft. A three-year starter at UCLA before turning pro after his junior season, he was First Team All-Pac-12 and a Third-Team All-American in 2015, success he's built on with the Packers.
The 6-foot-3, 314-pounder has been a fixture on Green Bay's defensive line the last two seasons after starting two games as a rookie. He opened all 15 games he played at nose tackle as a first-year starter in 2017, finishing with 55 tackles, six tackles for loss, four and-a-half sacks, and six quarterback hits. Clark was even better last season, playing and starting 13 games en route to 55 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks, and nine quarterback hits.
The Packers currently have Clark under contract for the 2019 season at $1.7 million. Assuming they exercise his fifth-year option for 2020, he'll earn a minor pay increase before becoming a free agent in the 2021 offseason.
Clark will be integral to Green Bay's rebuilt defense in 2019. Not only did the team move on from Clay Matthews earlier this spring, but also made several splashy free agent additions, including pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith and safety Adrian Amos.
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