Report: Minnesota Vikings Reach Out To A.J. Hawk

This is part of why they call NFL free agency the "silly season." Or, at the very least, I hope that it is.

Numerous sources, including ESPN's Ben Goessling, are reporting that the Minnesota Vikings have been in contact with linebacker A.J. Hawk. This flies in the face of what we've been expecting from the Vikings this off-season, as I was under the impression that they were attempting to get younger and better. This move, on the other hand, would make them older and worse.

Hawk was the #5 overall pick in the same 2006 draft class that Chad Greenway was a part of. (Hey, remember how Chad Greenway is too old now?) Frankly, for a #5 overall pick, he's never really been anything special.

If you look strictly at Pro Football Focus grades for this past season, Hawk was better against the pass than Greenway was, grading out at a -0.6 to Greenway's -8.4. However, he somehow managed to be even more abysmal in run defense, with a -11.0 mark in that category, compared to Greenway's -8.7. Overall, Hawk was the second-lowest graded member of Green Bay's defense last season (-11.6), while Greenway was Minnesota's lowest-graded defender (-15.9) by PFF.

Seriously, if this team is going to keep bringing in former Packers, the least they could do is bring in guys that have something to offer. A.J. Hawk does not fall anywhere near that category, and I hope that this is simply some sort of a smokescreen.