The Green Bay Packers parting ways with Mike Daniels isn't exactly shocking. After all, the veteran defensive tackle isn't a great fit for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's rebuilt defense, and the Packers added several young players along the defensive line in the offseason. Following his release on Wednesday, reports emerged that Green Bay had worked the trade wire in efforts of finding a taker for Daniels rather than losing him for nothing, too.
Needless to say, the Packers clearly feel like they can more than get by without Daniels, whose departure erases a $10.7 million hit from the team's salary books. Just because his age, style, injury history, and salary made him an awkward fit with Green Bay, though, hardly means the team isn't sorry to see him go.
Article Continues Below“I know he's meant a lot to this community, this football team,” first-year coach Matt LaFleur said, per Tom Silverstein of Packers News. “I still think he's a really good player. I wish him well. But we feel really, really good about the group we have.”
Daniels was entering the final season of a four-year, $42 million contract he signed with the Packers in December 2015. He emerged as an impact player and team leader in the interim, earning his first and only Pro Bowl nod in 2017. The seven-year veteran was subsequently ranked as the 93rd-best player in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
Daniels had 18 tackles and two sacks over the first 10 games of last season before suffering a foot injury. He was placed on injured reserve shortly thereafter.