Letroy Guion has officially been released by the Green Bay Packers, Packers GM Ted Thompson announced Tuesday. Guion, who is suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season for a PED violation, also picked up a DUI in June, which was presumably the tipping point for the Packers.
A generally healthy player, Guion rarely missed playing time for injuries. However, his suspension and ongoing list of off-the-field issues was apparently too much for the Packers.
Green Bay revitalized Guion's career. After a six-year stint in Minnesota in which he missed 28 games, he played in 44 of 48 games over the last three seasons, and he notched 83 of his career 173 tackles. He also picked up 3.5 sacks in his first season.
However, as everyone knows, nose tackle play isn't about the stats. Guion was a good space eater in Green Bay, something he seemed to struggle with in Minnesota. His on-field production likely would have rationalized waiting out the suspension, but between his 2015 suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy and his DUI, it all proved to be too much.
Should Guion get picked up by a team, his suspension would carry over and he would have to start it upon getting picked up (i.e., if he's signed in Week 2, the Week 1 game missed wouldn't count as a suspension). If a team becomes extremely needy on the line and begins to see it in the preseason, Guion may get a call. However, in the meantime, it's the waiting game.
Thompson clearly viewed this as an eventuality, as he's been stockpiling linemen recently for depth. Although he obviously would have liked to have Guion return, Thompson seemed to know this was in the works for some time.
