Packers News: A.J. Hawk restructures contract

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Packers LB A.J. Hawk
Packers LB A.J. Hawk

A.J. Hawk has agreed to restructure the final three years of his contract with the Packers, according to Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

In 2011, the team cut Hawk before re-signing him to a five-year, $33.75 million deal.

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeted that Hawk’s contract was, in fact, restructured, and that the result was a pay cut. Silverstein went on to say that Hawk wasn’t thrilled about taking a pay cut, but the move will allow him to play in Green Bay for three more years.

Hawk was the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the pick after the Jets took tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and just before the 49ers took tight end Vernon Davis. He hasn’t performed up to his draft position, but he’s only missed two games in his seven-year NFL career.

One could argue that 2012 was Hawk’s best season as a professional. Although he failed to come up with an interception for the second year in a row, he racked up 120 tackles and three sacks, according to NFL.com.

Hawk was a standout player at Ohio State University, starting 38 of 51 games. He was a unanimous All-American as a junior in 2004 and as a senior in 2005. Hawk also won the Lombardi Award during his senior season at OSU.

At the very least, Hawk restructuring his deal gives the team some insurance at inside linebacker. Desmond Bishop figures to return to the starting lineup in 2013 after missing last season, and third-year player D.J. Smith could compete for a starting job in training camp.

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Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

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11 thoughts on “Packers News: A.J. Hawk restructures contract

  1. Good move by Hawk if he wanted to stay in GB. This was something that had to happen or he would have been released in June to avoid the cap hit. Good to have the leader on the Defensive huddle and reliable ILB stay in the fold. Now he needs to see if he can start making some impact plays. This will break the hearts of alot of fans that wanted him gonna no matter what. But the Packers are better w/ him on the team than without.

    Smith is an afterthought IMO. Even w/o the knee injury, he’ll get passed by Manning who could now push Bishop if he’s not fully recovered from hamstring surgery, which by the way is far from a sure thing. Thats a surgery thats very difficult to recover from and is really an abnormal surgery.

    Leaving Manning out of the discussion at ILB is a mistake. He’s a faster, just as physical model of Bishop and has playmaking ability. He’s the future of the Packers ILB. Mark it down…

  2. Interesting that Hawk was willing to take the pay cut. Guess he didn’t like his chances on the open market? Or does he just like GB that much?

    1. I really think he likes GB that much. From small town Ohio, so same kinda atmosphere as GB and its nearby so he can visit family whenever he wants. I think GB just appeals to him alot.

  3. Just can’t get rid of those stupid mistakes. Couldn’t cut him, because he knows the defense. He’s useless, but he knows the defense.
    TT has one of the youngest teams in the league every year, yet we are up against the cap! That should never happen with all that youth, but TT keeps making the mistakes of resigning players that aren’t worth near the money TT pays them. Hawk? Still a joke. Finley? Can’t seem to catch a cold, let alone a football. Then he tells the press that he’s one of the best! Pickett? 6.7 million for a 34 year old NT? He gave a big contract to Lang, who gets pushed back into the backfield regularly!
    I can’t wait to hear why he wouldn’t go after Dumervill. Because getting a young, great, pass rusher we can’t afford because we have to keep TT’s garbage!

    1. Pickett is worth every penny he earns.

      Lang isn’t a bad guard at all- he struggled with injury last season, and he’s not expensive when you look across the league- in fact, he’s under a fairly Packers-friendly contract, IMO. It’s the NFL, guys make money.

      Hawk is not useless, he’s just not a game-changer. Yes, he’s overpaid. Now, not nearly as much.

      Try not to be such a negative nancy.

  4. Hawk should make 2M a year, anything more is a mistake. Lets wait and see what ted payed him. Probably 4.5-5m a year.

  5. Lookin’ forward to all those Ints, Forced Fumbles, big hits, great pass coverage again from AJ in 2013.

    Who says TT doesn’t sign marquee players.

  6. TT just lets his big azz ego get in the way all the time… otherwise he is a decent guy…

  7. Well, before praising or decrying the decision, I would really like to know how much of a “cut” Hawk took.

    If it reduced his salary by at least $2M I can live with his pedestrian pay.

    If he will still get paid more than $5M in 2013, I don’t think there is anything to get excited about because Hawk would still be the most overpaid player on the team other than maybe Finley, or Crosby, or T. Williams, or Kuhn.

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