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Over the next two weeks, Acme Packing Company takes a look at each position group on the Green Bay Packers and provides grades and insight on how they performed in the 2015 season. Today, we examine the defensive line. Follow along with all of our positional breakdowns here.
To conclude our review of the Green Bay Packers' defensive line, we discuss the players currently headed towards free agency: B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion.
B.J. Raji
Years in NFL: Seven
Status: Unrestricted free agent
Expiring contract: One-year, $1.75 million deal
Stats: 22 total tackles, 1/2 sack, two deflected passes
Raji may never see an offer like the one he reportedly turned down before the 2013 season, but he still expects to garner a reasonably lucrative deal this offseason. Defensive linemen with his size and movement skills don't come around often, and he proven capable of handling a heavy workload in the past. Raji's injury history may lower his price tag, however. The Packers just backed up the Brink's truck to Mike Daniels' residence, so perhaps they may decide not to make their veteran nose tackle a competitive offer. Still, given how his return buoyed the defense, Raji could find his way back to Green Bay in the end.
Letroy Guion
Years in NFL: Eight
Status: Unrestricted free agent
Expiring contract: One-year, $2.75 million deal
Stats: 21 total tackles
For the past two years, Guion has served as the Packers' insurance policy. If something happens to Raji, the team has a proven backup nose tackle to replace him. Otherwise, Guion can handle snaps at other spots along the defensive line, keeping big bodies like Mike Daniels and Mike Pennel fresh throughout the season.
At the same time, Guion's rather sordid personal affairs have cast the Packers in a negative light. In addition to his offseason arrest for drug and gun issues, a police report states that the defensive lineman struck the mother of his child during a February 2013 incident. Though never charged, Guion's baggage may well outweigh the benefit of retaining his services.