The Pack finally bit the bullet and dumped malcontent DT Cletidus Hunt as part of its cuts to the 53-man roster. Rewarded by then-GM Mike Sherman with an overly generous contract after one performance year, Hunt never again reached that same level of effort. Fans have known that for a couple years now. New GM Ted Thompson -- perhaps with the grudging consent of Sherman and willing consent of new Defensive Cooordinator, Jim Bates -- was apparently willing to eat part of the contract this year and next year to make room for players who are more interested in playing football than in taking time off. The reaction, one would suspect, from most of it not all Packer fans to this cut is, "It's about time!".
As a matter of fact, one of the polls the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did during the Packers' last mini-camp -- another one that Hunt missed -- basically said it all, and was very prescient:
Now that Cletidus Hunt is missing minicamp again, do you think he'll still be on the Packers' roster when the regular season begins?
|
No (73.6%)
|
Yes (26.4%)
|
| Total votes: 4,633 |
In another good move, the Packers traded oft-injured CB Chris Johnson to the St. Louis Rams for LB Robert Thomas, a fourth-year veteran out of UCLA. The Packers also traded T/G Steve Morley to the New York Jets for a future undisclosed draft choice. The following players were placed on injured reserve: S Todd Franz and RB Joey Harris.
Here is the official release list from the Packers:
- T/G Brad Bedell
- WR Craig Bragg
- WR Sam Breeden
- CB Chris Day
- T/G Joe Hayes
- DT Cletidus Hunt
- LB Corey Jenkins
- WR Jamal Jones
- FB Vonta Leach
- DT James Lee
- TE Sean McHugh
- LB Nick McNeil
- QB J.T. O'Sullivan
- LB Ray Thompson
- WR Andrae Thurman
- CB Leigh Torrence
- DE R-Kal Truluck
- DE Seante Williams
- RB Walt Williams
It will no doubt be the case that Thompson and his crew will be scouring the cut lists for possible upgrades and backups at a number of positions.
