INDIANAPOLIS -- The overhaul at inside linebacker has begun.
The Green Bay Packers released veteran Brad Jones on Friday, ending a failed experiment that saw the former seventh-round pick move from outside linebacker less than three years ago.
The move saves the Packers $3.75 million on this year's salary cap. The only remaining charge on the salary cap for Jones is a $1 million proration from the $3 million signing bonus he received as part of a three-year, $11.25 million deal he signed in 2013, which at the time seemed like a questionable move by the Packers.
Back then, the Packers viewed Jones as a viable option as a starting inside linebacker based on his performance in the second half of 2012, when he took over as a starter midway through the season following injuries to Desmond Bishop and D.J. Smith.
Jones, a seventh-round draft pick in 2009, held that job going into last season and started the first game before he suffered a hamstring injury. After that, he bounced in and out of the lineup, playing just 217 defensive snaps all season (including playoffs). He did not play a single snap in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
"We thank Brad for his contributions and dedication to the Packers over the past six years," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said in statement announcing the move. "We wish him all the best."
The move comes as no surprise given that coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine that inside linebacker is the team's biggest offseason priority.
It could be only the beginning of an overhaul at the position. The Packers could save another $3.5 million in cap space if they released A.J. Hawk, although the news that Hawk had ankle surgery last month could change things.
