Getty Mike Daniels #76 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after making a tackle during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field on December 11, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Mike Daniels isn’t leaving any room for doubt when it comes to his interest in playing for the Green Bay Packers again
Daniels, who was cut at the beginning of last year’s training camp and spent the 2019 season with the Detroit Lions, made it perfectly clear where he stood on a possible reunion with his longtime team during an interview on ESPN Milwaukee’s “Wilde and Tausch” radio show.
“I am very excited at the possibility and opportunity of coming back if that were indeed a thing,” Daniels said during Tuesday’s interview. “Green Bay is home. It’s one of my homes. New Jersey, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisconsin. To be able to return where I started my NFL career and now I’m way more mature, I guess you would say, polished, learned a lot this past season. Yeah, man, I feel like I just have so much more to offer than I did in the seven years that I was there.
“That would really be an awesome thing.”
ICYMI: @Mike_Daniels76 joined today’s show on @ESPNMadison & @ESPNMilwaukee and was asked about the possibility of returning to the #Packers. 👀
Find the FULL interview available on #WiOnDemand: t.co/l9J7im8czv
Daniels was a fourth-round pick for the Packers in 2012 who after two seasons ascended to a starting role, earning Pro Bowl distinction in 2017 and missing just four games in his first six seasons with the team. His final year in Green Bay, however, saw him sustain a season-ending foot injury in Week 11 and added another sour note to a miserable season.
The Packers had tried to trade Daniels throughout the following offseason while general manager Brian Gutekunst made big-money plays to sign Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, significantly enhancing the team’s pass-rushing abilities. After having no luck moving him, the Packers instead decided to release Daniels at the start of 2019’s training camp and save some cap.
“If you guys think when the Smith Bros. bought in, the talk was, ‘Wow, we’ll have these two guys on the edge, then Mike and Kenny (Clark) in the middle,'” Daniels said. “I know that was something that a lot of people were really excited about, I know I was excited about it. And I only had one year in Coach (Mike) Pettine’s scheme and I really liked how he utilized me in the scheme. He moved me around a lot, he lined me up all over the place just to be disruptive.”
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Daniels Believes Fit Still Makes Sense with Clark’s Rise
The release of Daniels sparked initial conversations about who the Packers had pegged to step up and replace him alongside Clark, their star nose tackle. Some had eyes on third-year Montravius Adams, while fifth-round rookie Kingsley Keke also generated some early buzz.
While the Packers got a career season from Clark in 2019 that gave weight to his desire of signing a new contract extension, the rest of his interior defensive linemen struggled to lend him the appropriate support. The Packers run defense was especially porous, yielding 128.7 rushing yards per game across both the regular season and postseason — including a devastating 285 yards to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.
Finding Clark some help became a logical priority for the Packers coming into the offseason, and they didn’t leave the need unaddressed. In addition to returning every member of last year’s team, the Packers also signed former Miami Dolphins veteran Treyvon Hester, drafted edge rusher Jonathan Garvin and signed Willington Previlon as an undrafted free agent.
Daniels certainly thinks he could be useful if added to the mix, as he has been impressed watching Clark develop and would love another crack in Pettine’s defensive scheme.
“That would be cool, would be another year in the scheme and playing with two really good edge players, and then Kenny has fully and completely come into his own, that would be great,” Daniels said. “And I’d be reunited with my brother (Christian) Kirksey.”
Getting a deal done, though? Not so easy.
The Packers are still capable of adding new players even while strapped for cash, but the cost of Daniels proved too high during last year’s offseason when they were better off financially. Unless he was willing to agree to a much lower and friendly deal like some of the Packers’ other free agents, a reunion likely isn’t in the cards.
Green Bay also decided to move on from him once and might not be interested in getting him back. Daniels’ health was even rougher last year for the Lions, starting only two of nine games and finishing the season on injured reserve. With three new additions and a full returning cast, there might not be a place for Daniels, no matter how familiar the name.
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