Former Packers LB Bishop Signs With Cardinals

Former Packers LB Desmond Bishop has signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals, Pro Football Talk reports.

From 2007-2012, as you probably remember, Bishop was a constant contributor to Green Bay's defense, even starting for them in 2010 and 2011.

However, during the 2012 preseason opener Bishop sustained a severe hamstring injury, ending his year and eventually leading to his release the following offseason.

Since then, unfortunately, things haven't really gotten any better for the former Super Bowl Champion, definitely making this piece of news likable, as it gives a deserving veteran another chance to help out a playoff contender.

The Surprising Free Agent Pursuit of Desmond Bishop

Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. LB Desmond Bishop is a starting linebacker who only lost his job because of a hamstring injury that happened a year ago. But after watching him closely over the past several seasons, I don't see a player that multiple teams should be fighting for.

Giants, Jaguars join Vikings, Chiefs in Desmond Bishop chase http://t.co/BRQrRq68K0
— NFL: AroundTheLeague (@NFL_ATL) June 21, 2013

Bishop had an exceptional 2010 season, and recorded five sacks in 2011, but now he's coming off a lost year. The only advantage he has over someone like free agent LB Nick Barnett, who Pro Football Focus said had "two decent years in Buffalo", is that Bishop is under age 30. It would seem that Barnett's relative health (he hasn't missed a game since 2010) would offset that Bishop's three years younger, but that doesn't appear to be the case since at least three teams are in hot pursuit for Bishop while Barnett has been unemployed since February.

Just in case anyone was worried that the Packers might have made a mistake in releasing Bishop, Pro Football Focus called LB Brad Jones a "Secret Superstar" while also noting that LB A.J. Hawk had his best pro season in 2012. GM Ted Thompson wasn't going to pay three inside linebackers like they were starters, so someone had to go and Bishop hasn't been outstanding since 2010.

It's Official: Packers Release Desmond Bishop

I've thought this was an obvious move ever since the Green Bay Packers re-signed ILB Brad Jones, so it doesn't come as a big surprise.

The release of LB Desmond Bishop is official: http://t.co/0gu2iKnWQz
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 17, 2013

Previous: Packers May Soon Release Desmond Bishop.

Though one unfortunate consequence is that Bishop may soon visit the Vikings, who lost starting ILB Jasper Brinkley to the Cardinals in free agency. It sucks when anything done by the Packers potentially helps the Vikings.

Bishop had a surprising career with the Packers. I wasn't expecting much from him as a 6th round pick in 2007, but he made the team as a special teams player. He showed promise early on as a run stuffing inside linebacker, but it took him a couple years to figure how to cover receivers. After injuries to Nick Barnett and Brandon Chillar in 2010, he finally got his chance to start and had a great 2010 season.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as good in 2011, and then he was out for all of 2012. He'll be 29 years old at the start of next season. While he's likely to play for another team, the combination of leg injuries, age, and high price led to his release. Because of the coaches undying love for A.J. Hawk, and a surprisingly strong 2012 season from Brad Jones, the Packers are probably in better shape with them next season. Also, the Packers appear to be expecting more from second year LB Terrell Manning as a reserve. While the release of Bishop, and the previous release of LB D.J. Smith, is stretching their depth at linebacker, they appear to be comfortable with the healthy players still on the roster. With Bishop's likely demotion, his release should have little impact on them next season.

Packers May Soon Release Desmond Bishop

I've been expecting the Green Bay Packers to release LB Desmond Bishop ever since they re-signed LB Brad Jones because his new contract pays him like a starter ($11.75 million over three years). While LB A.J. Hawk took a multi-million dollar pay cut, he's still paid like a starter ($10.6 million over three years) and the decision to re-negotiate instead of releasing looks like a clear sign that they still believe in him. 

Since the Packers only need two starting inside linebacker, paying Bishop like a starter doesn't make much sense. Especially for the Packers, who aren't known for ever keeping high priced veterans in reserve roles. Now the rumors have heated up again:

According to #NFL source, barring a contract restructure or trade, #Packers will be parting ways with ILB Desmond Bishop (@desbishop55).
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) June 12, 2013

I can't see any team offering anything in trade for a veteran coming off a lost season (hamstring injury) who's scheduled to make over $3 million. A contract restructuring seems unlikely too. Bishop wants a chance to start, his goal is to be defensive player of the year, and he can't do that from the bench. As mentioned earlier, the Packers aren't known for keeping veterans as bench and/or special teams players. Plus, they still have depth at inside linebacker, even if Bishop is gone.

Another problem is that the last time Bishop was healthy, he was bad against the run, which is exactly what you don't want from an inside linebacker. While he did record five sacks in 2011, usually after a delayed inside blitz, Jones had two sacks last season and Hawk increased his sack total from one and one-half in 2011 to three in 2012. They seem capable of making up what Bishop added as a pass rusher.

My only question is why now? Everything I wrote above about Bishop has been true for a while. This is the final week of OTAs (organized team activities) and he sat out at least one open practice due to his hamstring. That was precautionary and probably not a big deal, but the Packers apparently didn't see enough progress from him in some regard. Parting ways with him seemed inevitable to me for a while, but maybe the Packers have only recently come to the same conclusion.

Surprisingly, The Packers Re-Sign Brad Jones For A Lot Of Money

Because of season ending injuries to ILB Desmond Bishop and ILB D.J. Smith, the Green Bay Packers were forced to go to their third option, and they gave fourth year LB Brad Jones ten starts (plus two playoff games) at inside linebacker. He was rarely on the highlight reel, but he did a solid job and I expected some linebacker needy team would overpay him to start next season. I wasn't expecting that team would be the Packers.

You're kidding, right? RT @robdemovsky: Brad Jones signs for 3 years, $11.75M pck.rs/11s9t6k
— Tom Oates (@TomOatesWSJ) March 22, 2013

The deal also included a $3 million signing bonus, which is more than I would have ever expected him to receive. While I've started out kicking the Packers for overspending on a former backup, this kind of reminds me of two years ago when the Packers surprisingly re-signed WR James Jones. He too was given a chance to test the market and he didn't find any better offers. His contract, and production, over the past couple seasons has worked out very well for everyone involved. A $3 million signing bonus is a lot, but it's less than the $8 million bonus LB A.J. Hawk received two years ago.

Jones's stats weren't too impressive in 2012 (77 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 pass defenses, 1 forced fumble), but the guys over at Pro Football Focus have been saying good things about him all year. When they ranked the free agent linebackers before the start of free agency, he was ranked as their third best linebacker available. The only linebacker with a higher grade last season was Philip Wheeler, who received a surprising 5 year, $26 million contract from the Dolphins. Pro Football Focus gave Jones high marks against the run and in coverage, and an inside linebacker who can do both well is a valuable player.

Still, there are a lot of concerns here. Jones began the 2012 season behind three other players at inside linebacker, and he wasn't even being considered at outside linebacker anymore. Last season might have been his ceiling, a career best in a contract year, and it might have been better to find an impact player in the draft. Also, GM Ted Thompson has a bad habit of giving long-term contracts to linebackers who haven't been worth it (Brady Poppinga, Brandon Chillar, A.J. Hawk).

Jones's play on the field last year earned him the chance to start, but I rather it have been another team. Still, you can't guarantee they'll find an immediate starter in the draft, and I wasn't really eager to see Bishop return as the starter next season, his performance dropped off in 2011 even before his injury, so they probably made the right decision by choosing Jones over Bishop. Hawk's recently restructured deal probably keeps him secure and I don't expect the Packers will pay both Jones and Bishop like starters. It's a lateral move for a defense that needed to get better, but since Jones wasn't directly part of the problem on defense, maybe he can become part of something better next season.

Grading The Linebackers At The Combine

Not only do the Green Bay Packers need to upgrade their talent at linebacker, but there are some high priced players who might be released because they're overpaid.

I've grown to accept what LB A.J. Hawk can do for the defense (an average linebacker against the run and pass) but he's wildly overpaid at $7.05 million in 2013. He might agree to a pay-cut, but he might want to test the market instead. The agent for LB Desmond Bishop is optimistic about his recovery, but we won't know until training camp opens, and he had a down year in 2011. So watching the NFL combine to see how the linebackers performed was one of the big events leading up to the draft.

Manti Te'o to Comment on Slow 40 Time as Soon as He Catches His Breath - is.gd/JQZN7A
— SportsPickle (@sportspickle) February 26, 2013

I'm not a hater, but I'm not a fan either. The problem is that he reminds me of Hawk; a big-time college player who's likely to disappoint as a pro. None of the Notre Dame mystique or side-show antics of a fake girlfriend really bother me. But really there is no comparison because Hawk ran a fast 4.59 40 time at the combine in 2006 which cemented his spot at the top of the draft. Meanwhile, Te'o fell out of the first round (and who knows how far) with his 4.82 40 time. There's still a chance Te'o will become a great pro, but it seems a lot less likely.

Meanwhile, Rob Rang took a look at the three linebackers who helped themselves at the combine.

Iowa State ILB A.J. Klein. Replace one A.J. with another? Maybe. He was previously projected as a 5th round pick, but now he's combined his college production with a solid 4.66 40 time. At 6-1, 250, he's can play inside in a 3-4 scheme and he's shown his instincts in pass coverage by returning 4 INTs for touchdowns in college (an NCAA record). If you want the Packers to select another inside linebacker with a mid-round pick, here's the guy for you. Give him a year to get used to the speed of the NFL and he might be a straight-up replacement for Hawk at a fraction of the price.

Connecticut LB Sio Moore. He was already highly regarded and a likely 2nd round pick, but now he's proven his speed (4.65 40 time). He's got the size (6-1, 241) to play linebacker in the 3-4 and he's known as a playmaker in college (43 tackles for a loss over the last three years). He might be a great prospect to play inside and provide an inside blitz against the run and pass.

Missouri LB Zaviar Gooden. While the Packers don't avoid athletes, they do seem to avoid great athletes who don't have a position to play. He might find a NFL team that can harness his ability, but I doubt it'll be the Packers.

Packers Down To 75 Players: Jarius Wynn Released

The Green Bay Packers announced 10 roster moves to shrink down to 75 players by today's deadline. Most of the transactions involved injured players and only one healthy player was released.

DE Jarius Wynn. This isn't the first time he's been released by the Packers, so it's not a big surprise. He was re-signed during the great injury rush of 2010, after Justin Harrell's annual season-ending injury. He's also one of the few players I've actually interviewed, so I'm disappointed to see that he's gone, but his play on the field didn't earn him a roster spot. He had a strong couple months down the stretch in 2010, and he was useful during their playoff run to the Super Bowl, but he was a non-factor last season after recording 3 sacks in their first three games. He was involved in a couple plays last week against the Bengals, but he was clearly behind other players like Philip Merling. The Packers might have to release three defensive lineman by the end of the week, so the final game will be very important for Merling, Lawrence Guy, and Mike Neal.

FB Jon Hoese was released, but he's also been out with a hamstring injury, so it's a release related to an injury. The former undrafted free agent was released last season too, and then brought back onto the practice squad late in the year, so we might see him again.

TE Andrew Quarless and LB Frank Zombo have been hurting all training camp, but they both have a chance to return after six weeks on the PUP list. I'm a little surprised OL Derek Sherrod wasn't listed here too, which may be a sign that he'll be ready to play soon.

It's too bad to see LB Desmond Bishop's season end before it began, but his hamstring injury was serious and he'll be out for the season on I.R. A few other players were also placed on I.R. (RB Du'ane Bennett, TE DeMarco Cosby, G Ray Dominguez, DE Johnny Jones, and WR Shaky Smithson) but I wouldn't have expected any of them to make the roster if they had been healthy. Rob Demovsky expects those last five players will "receive settlements and be waived."

There are a few other players that I expected to be released (OL Shea Allard, OL Greg Van Roten, and WR Diondre Borel all stood out in a bad way against the Bengals) but they still need players for the final preseason game against the Chiefs. The starters aren't likely to play, and Aaron Rodgers might not play at all. The front office might have a good idea of their final roster, but some guys will get at least one more chance to make a good impression.

Preseason Recap: Packers Beaten By The Chargers 13-21

It was an ugly, sloppy preseason game (which happens) but this might have been the best play for the Green Bay Packers: a Nick Perry sack. The Packers need a pass rush and Perry showed what he can do:
My notes on some other major points:

• I never like seeing injuries during the preseason, and it sounds like Desmond Bishop suffered a serious one. The very limited description reminded me of the multiple leg injuries sustained by Chad Clifton last season, and it wasn't something he wasn't able to come back from. The only silver lining is that the Packers have some depth at inside linebacker, and Bishop was far from great last season.
• No one should been surprised that Herb Taylor isn't the answer at left tackle. I guess the Packers had to give him a shot while Marshall Newhouse and Derek Sherrod were both out, and luckily Aaron Rodgers lived to throw another day.
• Rodgers looked extra sloppy with two turnovers in three possessions, however, he's been so good at protecting the ball over his career that this should be just viewed as a blip on the radar.

It's hard to tell whether one bad (or good) preseason game should be a make-or-break moment for any backup player. I'm waiting until at least next week to give them a thumbs-up or down. Bring on the Browns!

Desmond Bishop Failed His Physical?

The Green Bay Packers announced via the NFL transaction wire the players who failed their physicals. Among them were three expected players that Mike McCarthy named earlier, a couple of backups (Brooks and Jones) who I'm not expecting much from anyway, and two new names: LB Desmond Bishop and LB Frank Zombo.

I'd written recently about Bishop's poor 2011 season, and inside linebacker isn't a position they need to panic about. I'm not expecting much of a difference if D.J. Smith was forced to play, and he's taken over for Bishop during the Packers's first practice. Still, the Packers just reported the injury late on Wednesday and it might not be a big deal.

When I wrote about the linebackers, my only comment about Zombo was that he's going to have to prove he's healthy, and he's been unable to do it. I'm not rooting against him, but I'm not optimistic about his tenure with the Packers either. He's got a lot to prove on the field anyway, and the Packers aren't going to show a lot of patience with him if he's hurt.

The Football Outsiders 2012 Almanac: Looking At The Problems On Defense

July is a boring month for football, but it's also when the Football Outsiders Annual Almanac is released. It can be a tough read that makes me wonder if I've stumbled into a college textbook on statistics, but the team chapters are great, even if you're only skimming over the percentages. I'm not going to copy-and-paste the entire chapter on the Green Bay Packers, but overall it's going to reassure fans that they have a very good team.

I will bring up one group of players: the linebackers. Selecting Nick Perry in the 1st round has been a big first step towards improvement, but I've been worried about the return of A.J. Hawk at starting middle linebacker. However, according to Football Outsiders, he was better against the run and pass than any linebacker who wasn't named Clay Matthews last season.

Instead, the linebacker who came out with major egg on his face was Desmond Bishop, who graded out as poorly against the run (worst) and pass (bottom five) as any linebacker in the NFL. Bishop's never been great in pass coverage so it's not surprising to see he had some problems, and he'll much better in 2012 if the pass rush is improved. But I've always thought he was great against the run, so his terrible ranking was a surprise. However, plays like this one didn't help his stats.


Football Outsiders probably counted this play against him. Adrian Peterson ran right at the spot where Bishop should have been. Instead he was blocked out of the play, though he did manage to catch up 50 yards later to make the tackle. This is a really good example of his problems and why he needs more help from his teammates.

At the snap, Bishop's lined up behind B.J. Raji at NT, and Howard Green at DE. Green, who won't be back next season, was pushed outside by the left tackle while Raji did nothing against a double team. In fact, the center was able to come off Raji and move up into the second level to block Hawk too. Raji's poor effort was probably due to the fact that this was late in the game (the last play of the 3rd quarter) and it was the point last season when he was starting to look completely winded because he never left the field. With a wide open path on the left side, the full back ran untouched through the hole to knock Bishop off his spot and gave Peterson a lot of room to run. Charles Woodson and Morgan Burnett each missed an open field tackle that could have limited it to a 10 to 15 yard gain. To Bishop's credit, he disengaged quickly from the full back to get back into the play.

This, of course, wasn't the whole story. The Packers were among the league leaders by playing with five or more defensive backs on 70% of their plays, and they were one of the worst overall, as a team, allowing 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. As much as Bishop struggled against the run, the defense wasn't lined up to prevent the run, and overall did a poor job against it.

What should happen next season is that the Packers will have a better player (rookie 2nd round pick Jerel Worthy) at that defensive end spot, Raji won't be as worn down from playing so many reps, and they'll give Hawk or Bishop a much better chance at making a play. Now we have to wait a couple more months before that can become a reality.

The Packers 90-man Roster: Linebackers

The Green Bay Packers are bringing thirteen linebackers into training camp next month, so this has to be one of the biggest areas of competition on the roster based on size alone. Though they could keep as many as ten on the 53-man roster. Overall, this may be the best group of linebackers to play for the Packers since the early 1980s.

Player	Height	Weight	Age	Experience
Bishop, Desmond	6-2	238	27	6
Francois, Robert	6-2	255	27	3
Hawk, A.J.	6-1	247	28	7
Jones, Brad	6-3	242	26	4
Lattimore, Jamari	6-2	230	23	2
Manning, Terrell	6-2	237	22	Rookie
Matthews, Clay	6-3	255	26	4
Moses, Dezman	6-2	249	23	Rookie
Perry, Nick	6-3	265	22	Rookie
Smith, D.J.	5-11	239	23	2
So'oto, Vic	6-3	263	24	2
Walden, Erik	6-2	250	26	5
Zombo, Frank	6-3	254	25	3

Unless there's a big shake-up in training camp, it will be Bishop, Hawk, Matthews and Perry starting at linebacker. There should be no doubt about Bishop and Matthews, and while Hawk had a poor 2011 season, the coaches are publicly supporting him and I can't imagine they'd take away his starting job in training camp.

I don't believe the Packers would have drafted Perry in the 1st round if they didn't expect him to be good enough to start immediately. They might limit his snaps if he struggles in some situations, such as obvious rushing downs or on defensive calls when they need a linebacker to drop into pass coverage, but I expect he'll start one way or another.

While the Packers should keep six (or seven, if a linebacker is kept on the practice squad) of the remaining nine players listed, I have no idea who they might be. It all depends on whether they can stay healthy, and how they play this preseason.

Francois has been cut before, so he's not a lock. Jones has been in-and-out of favor for the past three seasons, he's been lining up inside this summer, and he'll need a strong camp to stay. Lattimore looked good last preseason, but he did little when he had a chance to play during the regular season. Smith might be the one sure thing among the backups, but a poor preseason could doom his chances too. So'oto followed an outstanding 2011 preseason with a MIA regular season due to injuries, and he did little when he was able to play. Walden received little interest in free agency, and despite his limitations as a pass rusher and in coverage, he's probably the best outside LB after Matthews and Perry. Zombo had a lost 2011 season due to multiple injuries, and he'll have to prove that he's healthy and productive. Overall, there's a lot of potential with the returning backups, but an awful lot of question marks too.

Finally, Manning and Moses are the other promising new additions. Manning looks like he could be a solid middle linebacker in coverage, and he could be a Brandon Chillar type of player. Moses has been the star of the OTAs, the undrafted player who's already earned some reps with the first team defense. It's very early in their careers, but so far so good.

Overall competition level: high. There are a lot of good players here, and at least one promising player or former starter is going to find himself released before the start of the regular season. The Packers needed to upgrade the position, and they've certainly done it.

Run Defense: Grading Desmond Bishop

Pro Football Focus grades out linebackers in run defense, and Green Bay Packers LB Desmond Bishop grades out as the best by tackles. Then they change the measurement by looking at Run Stop Percentage instead of tackles, and it turns out he's only one of the best. But there are some other factors that make this analysis complicated.

What isn't complicated is that there's no mention of A.J. Hawk. That's no surprise since he wasn't very good last year. I'd be stunned if the Packers replaced him next season, but he won't last much longer if he doesn't turn it around in 2012.

Back to Desmond Bishop. While he rarely came off the field, except for a couple games when he was hurt, he had the fewest run snaps of nearly every linebacker mentioned by Pro Football Focus. Teams didn't run the ball a lot against the Packers, so Bishop doesn't have as many stops. He wasn't often (maybe never) in a situation where his opponent was obviously trying to run out the clock last season.

Also, Bishop was asked to play run defense on a team that played in the nickel on about 75% of their snaps. Many times, there wasn't a defensive lineman in front of him to occupy the offensive linemen, and he certainly had to fight through many blocks to make plays.

He's a good inside linebacker and nothing here that really changes my thoughts on him. He grades out well statistically, even with a couple of factors working against him in their defensive scheme.