Was A.J. Hawk's Unknown Ankle Injury to Blame for Underwhelming 2014 Season?

After a 2014 season that saw A.J. Hawk's snaps dramatically decreased, the Green Bay Packers announced the release of the veteran inside linebacker on Wednesday. 

“A.J. is a consummate Packer and we are grateful for all that he has given and how he represented the organization over the past nine seasons,” general manager Ted Thompson said Wednesday, via the team's website.

The former first-round pick was a mainstay for Green Bay, as he had one season (2011) in his career which he did not play 16 games. But as ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky noted, in the final seven games of the 2014 season, including the playoffs, Hawk played only 31.1 percent of the defensive snaps. In the first 11 games, he played 94 percent of them.

The decline in Hawk's play in 2014 was noticeable, especially after he had one of the most effective seasons of his career in 2013. But how much of that decline was due to an unknown injury?

Season	GP	COMB	TOT	Sacks	PD	INT
2014	16	89	53	0.5	2	-
2013	16	118	74	5.0	5	1
2012	16	120	81	3.0	0	-
2011	14	84	53	1.5	3	-
2010	16	111	72	0.5	10	3
2009	16	89	67	1.0	2	2
2008	16	86	67	3.0	1	-
2007	16	105	78	1.0	4	1
2006	16	119	82	3.5	6	2

Demovsky reported on February 20 that Hawk had surgery at the conclusion of the season to remove "several painful" bone spurs in his ankle. It was an injury that no one could confirm during the season, though Hawk's declining play led many to suspect it. 

As Demovsky noted, Hawk seemed to really struggle in coverage against the Minnesota Vikings in November when he couldn't cover tight end Kyle Rudolph and allowed him a 23-yard completion. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

But when he was asked about it after the game, Hawk insisted he wasn't injured. "It wasn't from being unhealthy or whatever," Hawk said, via Demovsky. "He just caught me by surprise. I should've anticipated him coming across earlier, but it wasn't anything health-wise."

Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also asked Hawk about his health in mid-December, after Aaron Rodgers mentioned on his ESPN Wisconsin radio show that “(Hawk has) been dealing with (a) body that hasn’t been responding I think as well as he wanted it to at times this year," via Dunne. 

Hawk continued to insist he was healthy. "I'm not hurt," he told Dunne. “My body has bounced back every week. Like I said, I feel better older than I did younger. I think he was just trying to be supportive of a friend or teammate.” 

Of course, now we know that Hawk was hurt dealing with an ankle injury—apparently a painful one. His official release designation, via Demovsky, was waived/failed physical.

But how much of an effect did that have on his play throughout the season?

According to Pro Football Focus, Hawk allowed an average of 0.89 yards per coverage snap in 2014 for a total of 331 yards in primary coverage, which was 30th in the league among inside linebackers. He allowed 32 receptions on 43 targets and, importantly, 239 yards after the catch.

YAC Allowed in Coverage: Career Average per Season	180.2
YAC Allowed in Coverage: 2014	239

Hawk's numbers were similar in 2013 despite having eight more targets. He surrendered 0.83 yards per coverage snap for a total of 374 yards in primary coverage and allowed 35 receptions on 51 targets. However, Hawk only allowed 196 yards after the catch, which suggests his ability to chase down pass-catchers was severely limited.

He allowed 139 yards after the catch in 2012 per Pro Football Focus. In fact, his career average of yards after the catch allowed in primary coverage prior to the 2014 season (using all the data Pro Football Focus has on record) was 180.2. 

In a video he released on Wednesday (below), Hawk said that he doesn't think his injury affected his performance throughout the season.

"I honestly don't think it affected me that much. It was one of those things where a lot of guys get surgery when the season ends. It's not a rare thing in the NFL I don't think. I don't know how many years I've had surgery after the season was over," Hawk said.

However, Hawk did say he was aware that his ankle wasn't 100 percent at the beginning of the season. "I knew it was time early on in the year that I was going to have to get an MRI once the season was over."

Per Demovksy, Hawk tried to compensate for the injury during the season by losing weight and playing lighter, but his mobility was obviously limited.

Hawk maintains that he didn't consider himself hurt throughout the season, but he has also indicated that he is looking forward to "future opportunities" in the NFL. He wouldn't want a potential suitor in free agency to think his ankle injury could have affected his play. 

What's done is done now, and it's not particularly useful to speculate whether the Packers would have allowed Hawk to finish out the final year of his contract had he been healthy (and, potentially, had a better 2014 campaign).

Hawk's play had been declining for years, and even though his ankle injury appeared to really limit his ability to chase down receivers and ball-carriers in 2014, his coverage skills were not up to par for a starter at his pay grade in recent years. 

But the move certainly helped the Packers' ability to re-sign their impending free agents. The Packers gain $3.5 million in cap savings by releasing Hawk, per OvertheCap.com, in addition to the $3.75 million they save from releasing inside linebacker Brad Jones last week. 

Sam Barrington, who started seven games in 2014, is one of the presumed starters at inside linebacker in 2013. " I like the step Sam Barrington made," head coach Mike McCarthy said at the combine, via Demovsky. I thought he made a huge step and that's what you look for."

Inside linebacker Jamari Lattimore, who started five games in 2014, will become a free agent in March.