GREEN BAY – The Packers have signed veteran defensive lineman Javon Hargrave after he was released by Minnesota.
Here are five things to know about Green Bay's new addition to the defensive front:
- This will be his 11th NFL season and the Packers are his fifth team.
A third-round draft pick (No. 89 overall) by the Steelers in 2016, Hargrave played four seasons in Pittsburgh, three in Philadelphia, two in San Francisco and one in Minnesota before coming to Green Bay.
That's a total of 146 NFL regular-season games, including 130 starts, plus 11 postseason contests (all starts).
For his career, the 6-2, 307-pound interior lineman has logged more than 5,000 defensive snaps and racked up 432 tackles (233 solo), 49 sacks, 59 tackles for loss, 85 QB hits, five forced fumbles and five recoveries.
- He's a two-time Pro Bowler.
Hargrave, 33, earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2021 with the Eagles with what was then a career-high 7½ sacks. He garnered a second Pro Bowl honor in 2023 with San Francisco, a seven-sack season.
Ironically, during the 2022 campaign in between, he posted his lone career double-digit sack season with 11 but did not earn any honors.
- He excelled playing for new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Hargrave's highly productive 2021-22 campaigns with the Eagles came with Gannon as Philly's defensive coordinator, which culminated in a Super Bowl appearance.
During his two seasons playing for Gannon, Hargrave posted his two highest single-season tackle totals (63 and 60, the latter tied with his final year in Pittsburgh), his two highest sack totals (7½ and 11), his two highest TFL totals (nine and 10) and his two highest QB hit totals (18 and 16).
- He's been impressively durable.
Over his 10-year NFL career, only once has Hargrave played in fewer than 15 games in a season. That was with the 49ers in 2024, when he tore his triceps muscle three games into the season and missed the rest of the year.
He was released at this time last year by San Francisco and immediately signed with Minnesota, where he proved to be fully recovered by playing in 16 games with 15 starts in 2025. With the Vikings last year, he played 53% of the defensive snaps (537) and recorded 52 tackles (18 solo), 3 ½ sacks, four TFLs, six QB hits, one forced fumble and one recovery.
- His big-time pro career is rooted in a small-college beginning.
A native of North Carolina, Hargrave attended South Carolina State, an FCS school where he redshirted before playing four seasons, earning a pair of first-team All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference honors.
In 2014, he tied the FCS single-game record with six sacks against Bethune-Cookman.
