Packers Set To Release Al Harris

(Via JSOnline) ESPN Milwaukee reports that the Green Bay Packers have told CB Al Harris that he'll be released on Monday. Tom Silverstein explained that it wouldn't make sense to place Harris on I.R. and pay his salary. Also, he doesn't expect any team to claim Harris (due to that high salary) but he could catch on somewhere else.

I've hesitated all year to discuss his return because, as Jason Wilde detailed, Harris tore the heck out of his knee. This wasn't just a torn ACL. Add in the fact that he's about to turn 36 years old, a remarkable age for a cornerback, and it's easy to see how his comeback was a longshot.

His other problem is that the Packers now have some depth at cornerback. CB Tramon Williams continues to improve since taking over as the starter (Ravens "armbar" game excepted), undrafted rookie CB Sam Shields has surprised many by taking over as the nickelback, the coaches still insist on playing CB Jarrett Bush, and CB Brandon Underwood is a decent option at the end of the bench. That's a lot of depth for Harris to fight his way through, and the coaches and personnel department didn't believe he had done it.

Harris "has only good things to say about Green Bay" and I only have good things to say about him. He was acquired by Mike Sherman in a trade before the 2003 season and started every game for 5+ seasons until a torn spleen sidelined him in 2008. He made the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2008, and arguably deserved to go to Hawaii even before then. To me, his most memorable game was the pick 6 in the 2004 playoff game (2003 season) against the Seahawks.