As Chris posted yesterday, Aaron Kampman was visiting with the brass of Jacksonville and was rumored to be have other teams interested in his services.
Cancel those travel plans.
The Jaguars announced this morning that they have signed the former Packer defensive end/linebacker, contract length and terms undisclosed as of yet. There is no doubt Kampman got paid handsomely, but it will be interesting to see how long this deal is. He’ 30 years old and coming off knee surgery, but it would surprise me if the deal was of the five year variety as Jacksonville ranked last in the NFL with 14 sacks last year. Kampman will be in his familiar spot of defensive end in the 4-3 scheme.
(Update, 7:05 p.m. Sunday: Michael C. Wright of The Florida Times-Union reports, via his Twitter page, that Kampman received a four-year, $26 million contract with $11 million guaranteed.)
So what does this mean for the Packers? On the field, not a whole lot. The writing was on the wall since mid-season, if not earlier, that it would be Kampman’s last year in Green Bay. He never fit in the 3-4 scheme and the transition to linebacker never worked. When he went down for the season against San Fransisco, the defense actually started to take off with Brad Jones stepping in. Expect Jones to have the inside track to start again in 2010, unless someone takes the position away from him. While he showed some flaws, his overall production and potential is too hard to ignore. So the Packers will be fine without Kampman on the field.
Off the field? Now that’s a different story. There has been no question that Kampman has been one of the leaders in the locker room for years. He never showed any dissatisfaction until last year when the team made the switch to a 3-4 and it was obvious he would be the one guy who be out of place. He also was a fan favorite and him and his family are involved in many projects in the community, so Green Bay loses a great citizen as well.
Interesting of note, Kampman now joins former high school teammate Brad Meester, who plays center for Jacksonville. As you recall, Kampman played under the late Ed Thomas at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa.
Tough to see a guy like Kampman leave the Packers as he should have some productive years left if he recovers fully from last year’s injury, but this was far from unexpected. He never fit in a 3-4 scheme and this might as well be his last contract in the NFL, so when you have a chance to get paid, you have to take it.
As always, stay tuned to OBOD as we will keep you updated on the last free agency news and all the big moves Teddy is sure to pull.
-Adam Somers
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