The former undrafted outside linebacker from Toledo was coming off a three-sack, one-interception season in 2015, developing into a leader on special teams, and learning from top pass-rushers such as Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and Julius Peppers.
But a hamstring injury late in training camp forced him to miss the first two games of 2016, and he never seemed to find his footing.
He still led the squad in special-teams tackles, reaching double digits for the third straight year, but he recorded just one sack. Then a hand injury in December held him out of the final two regular-season and first two postseason contests.