The Green Bay Packers have had a need for speed at their inside linebacking position for years now.
Green Bay hopes it took a giant step towards solving that problem Monday by signing former Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey. According to the NFL Network, the deal is for two years and $16 million.
Kirksey, who has played in just nine games the last two seasons due to injury, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds before the 2014 NFL Draft.
The addition of Kirksey almost certainly means Green Bay won’t be re-signing Blake Martinez, who has manned the middle the last four years. Martinez’s 40-yard dash time was 4.71 seconds at the 2016 NFL Combine.
Kirksey, 27, was a third round pick by the Browns in 2014 and has played his entire career in Cleveland.
Kirksey was a part-time starter his first two years, then had a breakout 2016 campaign when he notched 148 tackles, 2.5 sacks and three passes defensed.
“Probably the most improved player on our team in my opinion is Kirko,” then-Browns coach Hue Jackson said of Kirksey. “He has accepted the challenge of playing extremely physical and tough. He has done that.
“He is a three-down linebacker. He can play on first, second and third down. He runs, and he has made some explosive plays. He needs to continue to do so, and I think he will.”
Kirksey signed a four-year, $38 million contract extension in May, 2017, that included $20 million in guaranteed money and a $6 million signing bonus. Kirksey then went out and had another terrific year in 2017, posting 138 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2.5 passes defensed.
Kirksey’s career began heading south in 2018, though, when he played in just seven games before going on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury. Kirksey then played in just two games in 2019, before suffering a torn pectoral tendon that required surgery and once again ended his season.
The Browns had seen enough, and released Kirksey on March 10. Kirksey was due to make $7.75 million in base salary this season and $8.25 million in 2021.
If Kirksey is healthy, the Packers hope he can give them the type of speedy linebacker with coverage skills that they’ve lacked for more than a decade. While Martinez was smart as a whip and ranked second in the NFL with 512 tackles over the last two years, his speed was mediocre and he struggled in coverage.
Gutekunst was asked after the season if the Packers needed an inside linebacker with more speed.
“I think so. Yes,” he said. “Yeah. No doubt.”
The Packers found one with Kirksey.
Now, they’ll cross their fingers and hope Kirksey can stay on the field.
