Today's ruling in the New Orleans Saints' bounty case has generated one immediate question from an NFC North perspective. Many of you are asking if the Green Bay Packers can re-sign defensive end Anthony Hargrove, released exactly two weeks ago, and play him in Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.
This story remains fluid, but the NFL just announced that Hargrove -- along with three other once-suspended players -- has been reinstated and is eligible to play this weekend. So the Packers could bring him back if they chose to. He is officially a free agent. For what it's worth, however, I would be surprised if they choose that route.
Hargrove was released on the first of the NFL's two cut-down dates, a pretty significant sign that things weren't working out independent of Hargrove's looming suspension. The Packers had given him almost no work in team drills during training camp, and other players had stepped into the roles the Packers once eyed Hargrove for.
Stranger things have happened, but I don't see Friday's ruling changing that dynamic for the Packers, at least not right away.