Pete Dougherty at the Press-Gazette wrote a good article about the Green Bay Packers' salaries in 2010. The main point of the article was that it looks like LB A.J. Hawk and RB Ryan Grant might be overpaid in 2010. Hawk is scheduled to make $4.6 million and Grant will make $6 million. He does compare their salaries to the team's highest paid players:
Grant topped the 1,250-yard rushing mark, which earned him a $1.5 million escalator in base salary for 2010, pushing his pay to $6 million when his salary is combined with roster and workout bonuses. That makes him the Packers’ fourth-highest paid player for 2010, behind only Woodson, receiver Donald Driver ($7 million) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($6.5 million).
CB Charles Woodson is scheduled to receive $7.5 million in 2010. Obviously $4.6 million and $6 million is a lot of money, and it does look high in comparison to other those players' salary. But I wanted to compare it to the recently released franchise and transition tag numbers for 2010:
| Position | Franchise | Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerback | $9.566 million | $8.056 million |
| Linebacker | $9.680 million | $8.373 million |
| Running Back | $8.156 million | $7.151 million |
| Quarterback | $16.405 million | $14.546 million |
| Wide Receiver | $9.521 million | $8.651 million |
I've put the list of the other positions after the jump.
All their 2010 salaries are significantly less than the cost to hypothetically place the franchise tag on them, so no one is obviously overpaid. Hawk is harder to justify, since LB Brandon Chillar just received a 4 year extension, but GM Ted Thompson seems to have no problem spending big money and using high picks on linebackers. Hawk played a lot last season, so I can't imagine Thompson would thin out his depth just to save a couple million and/or receive a mid-round draft pick in return. I'm no fan of Hawk's (he's their worst LB by far against the run, he's not great against the pass) but he's not going anywhere.
Grant is well worth his price. Especially when you consider he only lost one fumble last season too.
Maybe CB Al Harris will allow the team to push back his March bonus, as Greg Bedard suggested, but obviously his recovery from ACL surgery is the main factor. It might be a tough call depending on how his rehab is going. We'll here more about this as the March date approaches.
All of these players I've mentioned will return next season. So who's the most likely player to be let go or released this offseason?
| Position | Franchise | Transition |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive End | $12.398 million | $10.193 million |
| Defensive Tackle | $7.003 million | $6.353 million |
| Offensive Line | $10.731 million | $9.142 million |
| Punter/Kicker | $2.814 million | $2.629 million |
| Safety | $6.455 million | $6.011 million |
| Tight End | $5.908 million | $5.248 million |