B.J. Raji and the Green Bay Packers are likely to agree on a deal to keep him in Green Bay.
B.J. Raji, one of the Packers’ most recognizable stars in 2011 and 2012, has greatly struggled since he was moved to defensive end a few years ago. He missed all of last season after he suffered a torn biceps tendon injury in training camp.
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But despite the recent struggles, Raji is likely to return to Green Bay for at least the 2015 season, as Bill Huber of Packer Report indicates here.
Raji dominated the NFC Championship Game, played in Chicago (the same game Jay Cutler was brutally criticized for sitting out the second half with a “minor injury”) in 2010. The Packers’ win put them in the Super Bowl, which they went on to win, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks later in Jerry World.
In that NFC Championship Game, Raji intercepted a pass and hoofed and hollered and somehow made it 18 yards to the end zone for his only professional touchdown to that point (he has since scored a rushing touchdown on a one-yard plunge in 2011).
The post-touchdown dance and celebration was a bit awkward, but also hilarious. It clearly caught the eyes of someone when he put on the “championship belt,” which Rodgers had previously made his touchdown celebration symbol.
After that NFC Championship performance, and subsequent Super Bowl victory, Raji joined teammates Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews in the State Farm Discount Double Check commercials.
Raji, 28, has spent six years in the NFL after being drafted ninth overall by the Packers in the 2009 NFL draft out of Boston College. He was a dominant player at BC, and was expected to become a superstar at the NFL level.
And he appeared well on his way to it in the Packers’ postseason run. But the move to defensive end, for whatever reason did not fit Raji well. In choosing to re-sign Raji last offseason to a one-year deal, the Packers also chose to move him back to the nose tackle spot he mostly dominated in during the early part of his NFL career.
By all accounts, Raji was dominating during training camp. And then the unfortunate biceps tendon tear took place, and he was lost for the 2014 season. But, as Huber writes, the Packers’ brass was highly impressed by the fact that Raji stuck around Green Bay to act as a veteran leader for the younger players.
That is one reason he is likely to return. Raji’s one-year deal a year ago was worth $4 million. It is unclear what it will be this time around, but almost certainly it will not be more.
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