The Packers are set to release defensive back Charles
Woodson after he spent seven years in Green Bay. The news first appeared on the
Twitter feed for Woodson's winery -- "Thank you Green Bay it was a great
run!" -- and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted a short time later that
Carl Poston, Woodson's agent, told him "They're getting ready to release
him. It's part of the business."
Wooson, 36, spent the first eight years of his NFL career in
Oakland. The former Michigan star won the Heisman Trophy in 1997 and was the
fourth player taken in the 1998 NFL Draft. He's an eight-time Pro Bowler, an
NFL Defensive Player of the Year as well as a Super Bowl champion.
Woodson, who moved to safety late in his career after
playing cornerback, has 55 interceptions and is undoubtedly a first-ballot Hall
of Famer. But conversations about Canton are premature; Poston tells Rapoport
that Woodson "Sounds like he has a lot of football left," and that
his client would "like to go play for a contender, win another Super Bowl.
He caught that bug."
Woodson played in just seven games last season after
suffering a broken collarbone. But given the NFL's continuing evolution as a
passing league and the dearth of capable defensive backs to slow it, we're
guessing Woodson won't be out of work long.
