The Green Bay Packers this week released nine-year veteran A.J. Hawk. It wasn’t much of a surprise as Hawk’s playing time and performance had decreased over the past season and his departure was somewhat expected.

Over his career, however, Hawk was able to establish himself as a solid linebacker. In fact, based on numbers alone, Hawk will go down as one of the Packers most dependable defensive players in the team’s history.

Did you know…

* Hawk last season became only the 27th player in Packers history to play in 140 or more games with the team.

* Hawk is one of only six players the Packers drafted in the first round who eventually played 140 or more games with the team in his career.

* Hawk is one of 19 Green Bay Packers players who has played in 13 or more playoff games with the Pack.

Let’s take a look at that stat where Hawk was one of 27 players to play in 140 or more career games with the Pack. Of the 27, 20 were drafted by the Packers, five were free agents, and two were drafted by other teams. Here’s a breakdown of those players.

Players drafted by the Packers who played 140 or more career games with the team
Donald Driver, 205 games (7th round)
Bart Starr, 196 games (17th round)
Ray Nitschke, 190 games (3rd round)
William Henderson, 188 games (3rd round)
Forrest Gregg, 187 games (2nd round)
Leroy Butler, 181 games (2nd round)
Chad Clifton, 165 games (2nd round)
Robert Brown, 164 games (4th round)
Ron Hallstrom, 162 games (1st round)
Larry McCarren, 162 games (12th round)
Dave Hanner, 160 games (5th round)
Mark Lee, 157 games (2nd round)
Ken Ruettgers, 156 games (1st round)
Boyd Dowler, 150 games (3rd round)
Max McGee, 148 games (5th round)
Ezra Johnson, 148 games (1st round)
John Anderson, 146 games (1st round)
Bob Skoronski, 146 games (5th round)
A.J. Hawk, 142 games (1st round)
Fred Carr, 140 games (1st round)

Players drafted by another NFL team who played 140 or more career games with the Packers
Brett Favre, 253 games (drafted in the 2nd round by the Atlanta Falcons)
Frank Winters, 156 games (drafted in the 10th round by the Cleveland Browns)

Undrafted players who played 140 or more career games with the Packers
Rob Davis, 167 games
Ed West, 167 games
Willie Wood, 166 games
Mark Murphy, 147 games
Ryan Longwell, 144 games

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