posted under: AJ Hawk, Blogs, Packers
Hawk Close To Getting Hitched Again
The late report out of Brown County was that a deal between the Green Bay Packers and first-round draft pick A.J. Hawk is close to being done. Having both Vince Young and D’Brickashaw Ferguson ink their deals with the Jets and the Titans, respectively, set the stage for final negotiations, so I’m hopeful that sometime today we’ll get word that Hawk is officially a Packer and reporting to camp on time.
The story earlier this week that Hawk and Laura Quinn got married in a civil ceremony in Green Bay set off a fair amount of speculation as to the motivation, with some bloggers jumping to conclusions (a logical one, I’ll admit). Later, though, the Dayton Daily News ran an article quoting Hawk’s dad as saying the Ohio State standout just wanted to be legal and all before he and his sweetheart started living together in Green Bay. It seems he’s old school traditional in that way. Now I’ve never met the guy so I really have no reason not to believe that, however, I do tend to think that there was some financial motivation (as speculated at Deadspin) behind the hastily arranged marriage, probably involving insurance, benefits and such that he wanted to get squared away before signing a contract.
I found it a little disconcerting, though, that the paper characterized the linebacker as being “aghast” that the Journal Sentinel would report on the betrothal. I hope this doesn’t set up some ongoing antagonism between Hawk and the local media. It was somewhat surprising as well that Hawk’s dad was quoted as calling his son “Dude.” Old school, indeed.
Meanwhile, the Packers are still working with Abdul Hodge to get a deal done before camp starts. The third-round pick will be the last to sign after Hawk gets his contract since the Packers have been working overtime to get deals done with Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz, and Ingle Martin this week.
And in the Other Shoe Dropping Department, the Packers announced they have released safety Mark Roman five months after signing Marquand Manuel from the Seahawks. I don’t know how much better Manuel will be, but he certainly can’t do worse that Roman did in his two years.
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July 31st, 2006 at 9:33 pm
[...] The burly linebacker from Ohio State must’ve had plenty of bubbly around (or at least the champagne of beers) as he married his fiancee Laura Quinn and signed a 6-year, $37.5 million contract within a matter of days. Laura might even deserve the “Best Week Ever” title for that as the marriage — conducted in a Green Bay law office — was likely snuck in before that contract signature to assure she receive all of the great benefits that are available to NFL wives. But the fact that A.J. Hawk was likely more excited than anyone to get to camp and start hitting people is an intangible that should not be overlooked and is thus, the final ingredient in guaranteeing him this title. [...]