We didn’t expect Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk to see the $10.5 million he’d be guaranteed on the first day of the league year, and now it’s official that he won’t.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Packers have released Hawk.

However, that doesn’t mean Hawk is gone for good. According to Schefter, there are some who believe a new deal for Hawk is coming, and he’ll stay in Green Bay.

Hawk was the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft, and although he’s started every game but three in his first five NFL seasons, he hasn’t been quite the star the Packers thought they were drafting. So it’s no surprise he won’t be getting that $10.5 million. Even if the Packers are still able to keep him around.