Hawk Still Not Sure If He'll Be Back With Packers
In an interview with the NFL Nework linebacker A.J. Hawk said he's not sure if he'll be back with the Packers in 2011.
During an interview on NFL Network's NFL Total Access on Tuesday, linebacker A.J. Hawk said he's not sure if he'll be back with the Packers next season.
"I would love to be back with Green Bay next year," said Hawk. "I don't know if that's going to happen with how my contract is structured and everything that's going on. I would hope that they would try to work something out, but we'll see. If not, hopefully somebody else will give me a shot."
With Hawk scheduled to make $10 million next season, the Packers must make a choice whether to honor that contract, restructure it or release him. They could also trade him after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed, although not many teams may be willing to inherit his $10 million salary for 2011.
Further complicating matters is that Hawk's contract is guaranteed the first day of the of the new league year. With the current CBA set to expire Mar. 4, it's unsure when that new league year will officially begin.
"It will be telling to see if the Packers try to address the issue before a potential work stoppage," wrote Gregg Rosenthal in a recent post at ProFootballTalk.com. "If they don’t, it’s a sign that teams are confident there will be some sort of buffer period after the next CBA is signed, whenever it is signed."
Hawk's interview with the NFL Network can be viewed over at NFL.com. He discusses his future with the Packers at about the three-minute mark.
Comments (11)
February 23, 2011 at 10:16 am
"Further complicating matters is that Hawk's contract is guaranteed the first day of the of the new league year. With the current CBA set to expire Mar. 4, it's unsure when that new league year will officially begin."
Hopefully the 'new league year' is pushed back until after the draft, giving TT some flexibility (and leverage) on redoing Hawk's contract, depending on how the draft goes. I do expect Hawk to be back, but at a much lower price tag than $10 mil. Give him something similar to Bishop, then cut Barnett loose.
But I trust whatever TT decides to do, and that is a nice feeling to have.
February 23, 2011 at 11:47 am
I too believe Hawk will be back, however for significantly more than Bishop.
February 23, 2011 at 02:59 pm
Do you really think Hawk is worth significantly more than $19 million over 4 years? I personally don't, the production just isn't there. If everything else were equal and Hawk had been a 6th rounder, with his performance over the past 4 years would he really be worth significantly more than $5 mil per year? I like the guy, but I just don't see the production to warrant that kind of money.
PackerAaron
February 23, 2011 at 04:13 pm
I get this line of thinking but sometimes its about more than "production" - he made all the calls on one of the best defenses in the league. He's responsible for getting guys lined up. And while not this year, he's led the team in tackles in the past - is that not "production"? What he hasn't given the defense a lot of are big plays. Does that mean you don't pay him? I don't know...
February 23, 2011 at 09:43 pm
Yeah, that's a lot of green for Hawk. Like you said though, it doesn't all show up on the stat sheet. With #5 overall I think we can all agree that we expected more game-changing plays out of the guy, BUT, he is assignment sure, has never missed a game and is always right at the top in tackles. There's a lot to be said for that, just not sure if it's woth $10 mill... I defer to Ted's knowledge, whatever he decides... I'm cool with.
GBP 4 LIFE
February 23, 2011 at 02:02 pm
Hawks good! they would be idiots to let him go.
February 23, 2011 at 02:07 pm
Was it me or did Hawk sound a little too indifferent as to coming back?It came across as whatever his agent says,will be and where he'll go.
February 23, 2011 at 11:25 pm
i think he's just an even-keeled kind of guy. he said he'd like to be back and i've heard earlier interviews where he said he loves living in green bay since he grew up in centerville, ohio- a small, tight-knit community like green bay.
February 23, 2011 at 07:58 pm
What was the deal with the apparent partial cast on AJ Hawk's right wrist/hand in that NFL network appearance?
Any know? Did he have surgery?
February 23, 2011 at 09:44 pm
I was wondering the same thing.
February 23, 2011 at 11:46 pm
I would offer him a 4 year $23 million dollar contact and give him his $10 million in a signing bonus.
Hes been consistant, reliable and available for pretty much his entire career. Hes worth more to GB than Barnett is at this point.
Its also time to let Brady Poppinga go and possibly even Chillar and continue to add young talent to the LB corps.
Walden and Zombo showed me more in one season than Poppinga has in 4, time to move on from one of my favorite players/characters to make room for these hungry youngsters.