Very long instruction word (VLIW) instruction processing using a reduced-width processor is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a VLIW processor includes a control circuit configured to receive a VLIW packet that includes a first number of instructions and to distribute the instructions to a second number of instruction execution paths. The first number is greater than the second number. The VLIW processor also includes physical registers configured to store results of executing the instructions and a register renaming circuit that is coupled to the control circuit.