Green Bay Packers The
Green Bay Packers selected Hawk in the first round (fifth overall) of the
2006 NFL draft. He was the first linebacker drafted in 2006.
2006 On July 28, 2006, the Green Bay Packers signed Hawk to a six-year, $37.50 million contract that included $14.76 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.91 million. Head coach
Mike McCarthy named Hawk the starting weakside linebacker to begin his rookie season, alongside strongside linebacker
Brady Poppinga and middle linebacker
Nick Barnett. He made his professional regular season debut during the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the
Chicago Bears and made five combined tackle (three solo) and one pass deflection during their 26–0 loss. On September 24, 2006, Hawk recorded eight combined tackles (five solo) and made his first career sack on
Detroit Lions quarterback
Jon Kitna for a nine-yard loss during the fourth quarter. In Week 12, Hawk collected a season-high 15 combined tackles (ten solo) during a 34–24 loss at the
Seattle Seahawks. On December 10, 2006, Hawk recorded five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and made his first career
interception during a 30–19 win at the
San Francisco 49ers in Week 14. He intercepted a pass by 49ers' quarterback
Alex Smith, that was originally intended for
Vernon Davis, and returned it for a 25-yard gain during the fourth quarter. Hawk started in all 16 games as a rookie in 2006 and finished the season with 119 combined tackles (82 solo), six pass deflections, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. He was third place in voting for the
Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year.
2007 Defensive coordinator
Bob Sanders retained Hawk, Barnett, and Poppinga as the starting linebackers in 2007. In Week 3, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (five solo) during a 31–24 victory against the
San Diego Chargers. He finished the season with 105 combined tackle (78 solo), four pass deflections, a sack, and one interception in 16 games and 16 starts. The
Green Bay Packers finished first in the NFC North with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. On January 12, 2008, Hawk started in his first career playoff game and made one solo tackle during the Packers' 42–20 victory against the
Seattle Seahawks during the NFC Divisional Playoff. The following week, Hawk made seven combined tackles (four solo) and one sack as the Packers lost 23–20 against the
New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game. The New York Giants went on to defeat the
New England Patriots 17–14 in
Super Bowl XLII.
2008 Hawk returned as the starting left outside linebacker for the third consecutive season under defensive coordinator Bob Sanders. He started in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opening 24–19 victory against the
Minnesota Vikings and collected a season-high ten combined tackles (seven solo). In Week 11, Hawk replaced Nick Barnett as the starting middle linebacker after Barnett was placed on injured-reserve due to a torn
ACL he sustained against the
Minnesota Vikings the previous game. Hawk finished the
2008 NFL season with 86 combined tackles (67 solo), three sacks, and one pass deflection in 16 games and 16 starts. The Green Bay Packers finished the season with a 6–10 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.
2009 On January 6, 2009, it was announced that Green Bay Packers' head coach Mike McCarthy had released defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and five defensive assistants. On January 19, 2009, the Green Bay Packers announced their decision to hire former
New England Patriots' secondary coach
Dom Capers. Capers installed a base
3–4 defense. Due to the change, Hawk was moved from weakside linebacker to inside linebacker. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Hawk and Nick Barnett the starting inside linebackers, alongside outside linebackers
Aaron Kampman and
Clay Matthews III. In Week 3, Hawk collected a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) during a 36–17 win at the
St. Louis Rams. He appeared in all 16 games in
2009 and had 14 starts with 89 combined tackles (67 solo), two pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack. In Week 6, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackle (five solo) during a 23–20 loss to the
Miami Dolphins. On December 26, 2010, Hawk made six combined tackles (five solo), deflected two passes, and intercepted his third pass of the season during a 45–17 win against the
New York Giants. Hawk intercepted a pass by Giants' quarterback
Eli Manning, that was intended for running back
Ahmad Bradshaw, during the fourth quarter. He finished the
2010 NFL season with 111 combined tackles (72 solo), a career-high ten pass deflections, a career-high three interceptions, and was credited with half a sack in 16 games and 15 starts. The
Green Bay Packers finished the season with a 10–6 record and earned a wildcard berth. On February 6, 2011, Hawk appeared in Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers and made five combined tackles (two solo) and deflected a pass as they defeated the
Pittsburgh Steelers 31–25.
2011 On March 2, 2011, the Green Bay Packers officially released Hawk as he was due $10 million for the
2011 NFL season. On March 3, 2011, the Green Bay Packers signed Hawk to a new five-year, $33.75 million contract that included $9.50 million guaranteed and a
signing bonus of $8 million. Hawk was released and re-signed in order for the Packers to free up cap space for the 2011 NFL season. Hawk retained his role as a starting inside linebacker, but played alongside
Desmond Bishop after Nick Barnett was released. On October 21, 2011, it was reported that Hawk had received a $10,000 fine from the NFL for making an obscene gesture after making a sack during the Packers' 24–3 victory against the
St. Louis Rams the previous week. On November 24, 2011, Hawk recorded six combined tackles (four solo) and a pass deflection before exiting during halftime of the Packers' 27–15 victory at the
Detroit Lions due to a calf injury. He was inactive for the next two games (Weeks 13–14), ending his 91 consecutive games streak. In Week 16, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo) during a 35–21 win against the
Chicago Bears. Hawk finished the
2011 NFL season with 84 combined tackles (53 solo), three pass deflections, and 1.5 sacks in 14 games and 14 starts.
2012 Defensive coordinator Dom Capers retained Hawk and Desmond Bishop as the starting inside linebackers for the second consecutive year, along with outside linebackers
Erik Walden and Clay Matthews III. He started in the
Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the
San Francisco 49ers and collected a career-high 14 combined tackles (ten solo) during their 30–22 loss. Hawk started in all 16 games a made a career-high 120 combined tackles (81 solo) and three sacks. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Hawk and Brad Jones the starting inside linebackers, alongside outside linebacker Clay Matthews III and
Nick Perry. On October 13, 2013, Hawk made ten combined tackles (eight solo) and a career-high three sacks during a 19–17 victory at the
Baltimore Ravens in Week 6. In Week 13, he recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles (eight solo) and one pass deflection as the Packers lost 40–10 at the
Detroit Lions. Hawk finished the
2013 NFL season with 118 combined tackles (74 solo), a career-high five sacks, five pass deflections, and one interception in 16 games and 16 starts.
2015 On February 25, 2015, Hawk was released by the Packers. Hawk led the team in tackles in five of his nine seasons in Green Bay.
Cincinnati Bengals On March 10, 2015, the
Cincinnati Bengals signed Hawk to a two-year, $3.25 million contract that included $500,000 guaranteed. Head coach
Marvin Lewis named Hawk the starting strongside linebacker, alongside
Vincent Rey and
Rey Maualuga. In Week 3, he collected a season-high six combined tackles (five solo) during a 28–24 win at the
Baltimore Ravens. Hawk recorded his first sack with the Bengals in a Week 10 game against the
Houston Texans. He appeared in 16 games with the Cincinnati Bengals with 11 starts and finished the season with 24 combined tackles (16 solo) and one sack.
Atlanta Falcons On October 4, 2016, the
Atlanta Falcons signed Hawk to a one-year, $985,000 contract that included a
signing bonus of $15,000. Hawk was signed after
Sean Weatherspoon sustained a torn Achilles two days prior. He appeared in the Falcons' Week 5 23–16 victory at the
Denver Broncos, but did not record a stat. Hawk remained inactive as a healthy scratch for the next two games (Weeks 6–7). On October 25, 2016, the Atlanta Falcons officially released Hawk.
Retirement On January 7, 2017, Hawk announced his retirement on a podcast with Albert Breer. On April 18, 2017, Hawk informed Packers' general manager
Ted Thompson of his decision to retire with the Packers. Thompson said, “The first thing that needs to be said about A.J. Hawk is that he is a good man. He was a terrific teammate and a true professional during his career, and we were lucky to have him. A.J. will always be a Packer. We wish the best to him and the entire Hawk family, and thank them for all that they gave to the team and the city of Green Bay.”
Mike McCarthy said, “We were fortunate to make A.J. my first pick as head coach in 2006, and he spent the next nine years giving everything he had to the Green Bay community and the Packers. His leadership and toughness were instrumental in all of our success, and we thank him for all that he did for the organization and the community. We wish A.J., Laura, and the rest of the Hawk family all the best, and I am confident that whatever the future holds, he will be successful.” ==NFL career statistics==