The Green Bay Packers have remained silent so far in the opening hours of the legal tampering period that kicks off NFL free agency in earnest.
Outside of kicker Brandon McManus and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, they have set to make any notable moves.
Now an important piece of their defensive line has departed to an AFC North contender on a 2-year, $15M deal.
Fortifying the Frontlines
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Cincinnati Bengals are signing former Packers defensive tackle TJ Slaton.
In his four NFL seasons, Slaton has amassed 134 tackles and two sacks in the middle of the Packers defense. While he is not a star, he had been a consistent force for this unit, playing 68 of 68 games since entering the league as a fifth round pick out of Florida.
It is not a huge loss for Green Bay, but it is a very good pick up for Cincinnati, whose atrocious defense last season has been the subject of endless offseason razzing. So far they have focused on extending their most important offensive pieces, such as quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Tee Higgins, while leaving pass rusher Trey Hendrickson unextended, at least for now.
One Packers tweeter going by the name Cheesehead TV had an encouraging message for Slaton’s new fanbase:
“You’ll like him Bengals fans. He’s a great dude and awesome run defender. Wish we could’ve kept him!”
The early results of a twitter poll in the comment section of Pelissero’s announcement expressed a generally positive opinion of the signing for the Bengals. Having tallied over 1300 votes thus far, the poll is split 65/35 in favor of the move.
LockedonBengals podcaster Jake Liscow provided a surprising stat that may leave Packers faithful more pained than they planned on.
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