Addition Of Andre Branch Means Aaron Kampman Could Be Cut

One day before the 2012 NFL Free Agency period began, I wrote that the Jaguars should re-structure or terminate the contract of veteran DE Aaron Kampman. With a $4.975 base salary for a 32-year old player coming off two ACL tears in as many years, it only made sense to try to save some of that money if the Jaguars did intend to go after a top free agent like Mario Williams, like many believed they would.

But they didn't and instead the Jaguars finish the core of the offseason with the NFL's second most salary cap room ($19.4M). Still, a nearly $5M salary is a lot for a player that will have a limited role in a defense that drafted a player 38th overall that will likely start in his place at right end.

Evan Silva of NBCSports and Rotoworld believes it all points to the end of Kampman's time with the Jaguars. On Branch's Rotoworld page, Silva said that Branch "should win over the weak-side end job in camp" and that "Kampman will likely be released."

With Austen Lane and several young pass rushers that could also make an impact in training camp including Aaron Morgan, John Chick and Kendrick Adams, it certainly looks like an uphill road for Kampman unless he can emphatically prove he has fully recovered from his knee surgeries in camp.