Confirming what had been expected, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Packers won’t exercise their fifth-year option on Derek Sherrod‘s contract. The decision will ensure that Sherrod is eligible for unrestricted free agency following the 2014 season.
As our fifth-year option tracker shows, the option for Sherrod would have been worth $7.438MM, an exorbitant price to commit to a player who has had trouble getting healthy in recent years. A 2011 compound leg fracture sidelined the former 32nd overall pick for a good chunk of his first three NFL seasons, limiting Sherrod to just 121 career offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Sherrod, 25, is reportedly healthy and expected to compete for a starting job this summer, but considering he’s the rare player who had an injury sideline him for multiple seasons, it would have been too risky for the Packers to pick up that option, which is guaranteed for injury only.