GREEN BAY — In defensive end news on the eve of the Green Bay Packers’ training camp, Dean Lowry got a hefty contract extension and Mike Daniels was released.
How many of you had that parlay in the roster pool?
Once you get past your initial surprise, however, you’ll see that these moves signaled a fundamental change in the Packers defense in its second season under coordinator Mike Pettine. Youth, length, availability and versatility are valued commodities on the Packers’ new-look defensive front. And gaining flexibility under the salary cap doesn’t hurt, either.
General manager Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday he couldn’t release Daniels earlier in the offseason due to injury considerations and had talked to teams about a trade in recent weeks but couldn’t complete a deal.