Green Bay Packers must cut A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones

The Green Bay Packers have managed their salary cap well under GM Ted Thompson, largely due to his ability to flood the lower half of the roster with draft picks and undrafted free agents. This has allowed the club to dip their toe into free agency when they see fit, which is rarely, but over the next month their cap problems will be in-house.

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Rob Demovsky of ESPN reports that Randall Cobb is seeking an annual salary in the neighbourhood of $9M, which would put him close to Jordy Nelson‘s 4-year, $39M contract. That number would be lower that the $10-12M that I originally feared, but when you add in additional free agents such as Bryan Bulaga, Tramon Williams, Davon House, John Kuhn and B.J. Raji, the wallet starts to feel a little thin. Over the Cap shows that he Packers enter this offseason with just over $23M in available cap space.

In order to give themselves the greatest amount of roster flexibility, the Green Bay Packers need to start over at inside linebacker by parting ways with A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones. Demovsky also details that releasing the two would create over $7M in cap space for Ted Thompson to play with.

Hawk is due to count $5.1M against the salary cap in 2015, which would be his tenth season in the green and gold. Releasing him would hit the Packers with a $1.6M cap charge stemming back to his most recent roster bonuses, but a net cap gain of $3.5M is hard to ignore. I’ve been vocal in my distaste for Hawk’s play since October, as he looked slow, small, weak, and generally unhealthy throughout 2014.

Coincidentally, the 31-year old Hawk saw the field for just 31% of the defensive plays this past season. There is a sentimental value here, and I’ll argue day and night that Hawk hasn’t been appreciated enough in Green Bay, but the money doesn’t make sense.

Jan 5, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) runs with the ball as Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Brad Jones (59) attempts to tackle during the first quarter of the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Jones began the season next to Hawk, but was slowed out of the gate by a quad injury. After his return, he rarely saw the field outside of the dime defense and played just 15.9% of the snaps from October on. He would create a $4.75M cap hit if still on the roster next season, but give the Packers $3.75M in relief if he is let go. Again, the financial investment involved here is no longer logical.

Julius Peppers quietly will factor into the Packers decisions with other rostered players over the next month. The Packers could also clear a large chunk of space with his release, but he offers something that Hawk and Jones fail to: impact play and game-changing abilities. Starting over at ILB would push the Packers towards $30M in cap space, a much more comfortable place to live.

Second-year pro Sam Barrington already has the inside track on a starting job in 2015 after stepping in and excelling down the stretch. Barrington is a fine physical specimen who has the potential to be a plus player against the run, especially if Green Bay’s nose tackle position gets a much-needed upgrade. Free agency remains an option for an upgrade, but I expect Thompson and the Packers to attack this position early in the draft.

When April rolls around, Bernardrick McKinney, Denzel Perryman, Eric Kendricks, Stephone Anthony, Ramik Wilson and Paul Dawson could all match up value-wise with the Packers value-wise. Bringing in one of these rookies on a manageable contract while committing some of the $7M in cap created by the releases to shore up the nose tackle position could really boost this run defense. The Packers’ D has some strong extremities, but the heart is weak and overpaid. It’s time for this to change.

Next: Should the Green Bay Packers address backup QB?

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