Not likely in the first round. Maybe 2nd or 3rd, or else a straight up trade in the 4th. Let's not overvalue Samurai boy shall we. I'd be happy with a case of Schlitz and a case of cheddar brats.

---

Hi, ... highlight "fortude" would have been funny.



I wonder if we end up keeping Barnett instead of Hawk. I know it means little, but Hawk's house was up for sale and they haven't had many positive discussions, so they've said and waiting until the CBA is done to rework the deal? Or hoping its done before the first day of the NFL '11 season is a bit risky. It could happen anytime and if you don't have a new deal, you're caught with your pants down.

He's guaranteed that $10 million on the first day of the year, so I think even if we cut him, he still gets the 10.

---

I guess we wouldn't cut him then. I don't even know why this is such a big deal. Cut Barnett and Poppinga and walla no financial problem at the LB position. Hammer out a new deal with Hawk during the season.

Christ if we survived Smoking Joe and Clit Hunt; we can overpay AJ for one year. And if we end up with Barnett over Hawk, Ted loses his Uncle status, then I'll be down to only Uncle Ted Nugent.

---

Where's the staff that overpaid for Joe and C Hunt?

---

That's what I was thinking. They got fired because they couldn't win, and it was in large part because of bad deals like those. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for Ted Thompson to follow Mike Sherman's business model.

---

And we finally found the right combination in the middle of the defense and people actually want AJ cut. All he has done is shown up and did his job since the day he was drafted and now people are isolating the one year of the contract and saying no way are we paying that.

I'm saying AJ would be an idiot to even renegotiate right now, and believe me, the Packers will be the ones that lose cause Hawk would be snatched up quickly by another team if we cut him. Besides, I don't see anybody whining about how grossly overpaid Pickett or Poppinga are. A.J.'s been a whiping boy since his first season by people who were dumb enough to think we drafted a Hall of Fame player, when what we did was drafted a solid player in a weak draft.

---

No way Poppinga makes the team next year. Zombo is a younger, more productive version of Poppinga. "What Poppinga was supposed to have been, but never was."

---

I don't think anybody wants A.J. gone. We just don't think it would be wise to pay him $10 million for one season. That kind of money is usually reserved for franchise QBs and maybe a handful of other superstar players in the league. It is common for NFL contracts to have a vastly inflated final year, as A.J.'s does, and it is generally understood that a new contract will be negotiated before that year or else the player will be cut.

I think most of us here share your concern that there has been no new contract yet. Once Hawk gets out there on the open market, he could get a better offer than the Packers will give him, and he'll be gone. But it is by no means over if he gets cut. I still remember hearing on ESPN radio last year that Chad Clifton was going to the Redskins, but then the Packers stepped in with a better offer and he stayed on the team.

---

I'd like AJ Hawk > Nick Barnett, but I'd rather have Hawk with Barnett's salary than $10 for this year against the (assuming) cap.

---

Greg, I see Hawk and Matthews as career Packers. No way either one gets out of Green Bay.

---