Any list of the most surprising moves made on cutdown day would be incomplete without the Packers’ decision to release guard Josh Sitton.
Sitton has missed two games since becoming a starter in 2009 and has played at a high enough level to be named a second-team All-Pro after each of the last three seasons. Inklings of what was coming only surfaced in the hours before Saturday’s 4:00 p.m. ET deadline to get to 53 players with word that the Packers were trying to trade Sitton.
That hope went unrealized, leaving Sitton feeling down about the turn of events.
“I really don’t want to talk, man,” Sitton wrote in a text message to Jason Wilde of ESPN.com. “I’m thankful to the organization. It’s a tough business. . . . I’m sad I will be leaving Green Bay. I am thankful for my time here.”
Packers General Manager Ted Thompson said the move “was done with a focus on what is best for the team and the growth of the offensive line.” When asked about any explanation from the team for the release, Sitton wrote to “call my agent.” Wilde did, but didn’t get a return call.
Sitton was heading into the final year of his contract and was set to make $5.9 million. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports that he was hoping for a new deal that the team didn’t want to give him and that they decided to move on because they “believed [Sitton] was upset” about that.
Sitton has likely heard from teams already and is a good bet to find a new home in the near future. The Packers, meanwhile, will have to break in a new left guard. Lane Taylor and Don Barclay are options that leave the other four starters in place and some have speculated that Bryan Bulaga could move inside with second-round pick Jason Spriggs taking over at right tackle.
