Anthony Hargrove suspended 8 games

Anthony Hargrove has been suspended for 8 games for participation in the Saints bounty program

@AdamSchefter: "Scott Fujita suspended three games, Anthony Hargrove suspended eight games, Will Smith suspended four games, Jonathan Vilma suspended 1year."

Well that sucks.

Just saw that. Ouch. I'm sure the organization was bracing for this.

It's time to deal with this problem before it becomes HUGE! This is Ted Thompson's 3rd major mistake. There's no way anyone can tell me Ted didn't know this was a possibility. You sign a guy who may be gone half or the WHOLE year? Combine this with Justin Harrell, which never worked, and the Brett Favre trade which it took into the 2nd year for it to work even in a decent capacity, and to me it's adding up. Granted Ted doesn't make as many mistakes as other GMs, but to me, he just seems to do it BIGGER!

Then you add this year's draft to the mix, and I don't care what the taking heads say, all but one or two picks this entire draft stink! Time for Ted to be GM in Seattle!

lol

It might be good to have a big fresh body to help the line when we have to make our play off push. Plus Hargrove was dirt cheap.

If nothing else, this will give Daniels and Worthy plenty of opportunities to show what they can do during the season. Especially Daniels.

That's a funny post, theonlymeyouknow, whether you realize it or not. Were you behind one of the "Fire Ted Thompson" websites? Still upset about the handling of the Favre-made-mess? Calling the 13th Green Bay Packers Championship something that worked "even in a decent capacity"? You weren't a little conflicted about the Packers winning it all were you? I'll bet you were - how sad for you. That's funny stuff, man: Keep it up!

I think Hargrove will become insignificant once these new guys pick up the pace. Especially Daniels. That guy has something to prove and he wants to prove it.

Alan from Milwaukee LOL

Ted signed Hargrove for pretty cheap and it included no guarantees so the Packers aren't on the hook for anything. TT knew this was a possibility and prepared for it. I also saw somewhere that Vilma's suspension is effective immediately, but the rest of them will be allowed to participate in offseason workouts and preseason.

I know he was only signed to a 1 year deal, but that's still $825,000 that will be spent on very little productivity. Can the Packers release him and make space or is that not possible? I guess I don't fully understand how it works when you sign a player who is disciplined for their actions on another team.

$412,500.

I'm none too worried about this. If anything, have Neal and Hargrove on suspension is almost a good thing.

How is that possible? They don't count against the roster limit while suspended and they won't be paid during their suspension. They are free players. Once the suspension is over, we can look at our roster, see who we have put on IR, and then replace them with a now-unsuspended player.

It's no different than picking up a street free agent after week 10 as an injury replacement, but these guys will have gone through our off and pre seasons. In theory, we like them more than street free agents.

Right on mradtke66. I was thinking the same way. Hargrove was suspended WITHOUT PAY so I think that we'll get at least as much value as we'll get out of Driver's $1M cost. Having fresh legs come into the D-line is also huge. There are no legs that wear down faster on an NFL team save for maybe RB.

Let's also not forget that these suspensions will be appealed. Who knows, the Williams Wall delayed their suspensions for years before they finally kicked in. We may have Hargrove all season if this turns into a legal battle.

I agree, The Union is going to fight this tooth and nail.

Yep, yep -Hargrove will come in fresh at the midway point of the season and breath some fire into the front line with fresh legs. Plus he's playing for a contract. (I've written off Neal at this point.)

The appeal will be interesting. The NFL hands down these suspensions with nothing that resembles due process (access to evidence, opportunity to rebut, etc). Sure as hell took them long enough to come up with these punishments. Why can't they offer a better explanation for an eight game suspension than vague statements like "obstructing the investigation?"

Not saying the suspension will be lifted but it might be trimmed back a game or two. Beyond that, the NFL's discipline procedures/policy is draconian for a unionized industry...

Annoying that he won't be available right but no real loss. He wasn't on the team last year, was cheap to sign and it maybe actually benefit some of our rookies to get in some playing time early on.

Well this sucks. While Hargrove was just another guy on the rotation, you can never have enough defensive lineman, IMO.

Good thing we drafted Worthy and Daniels.

Disappointed for sure. Maybe Neal will come back and surprise me.