GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Josh Sitton steadfastly remained on the high road Saturday afternoon. A three-time Pro Bowl guard and one of the Green Bay Packers’ most colorful characters -- suddenly an ex-Packer after his unexpected release -- chose his words carefully and didn’t have a single negative thing to say.
Or, text, as it were.
Reached via text message after the Packers made the news of his release official and he did not answer his phone, Sitton stuck to clichés when asked about his shocking departure.
“I really don't want to talk, man,” Sitton wrote. “I'm thankful to the organization. It's a tough business.”
Later, he added, “I'm sad I will be leaving Green Bay. I am thankful for my time here.”
Asked directly what explanation the Packers gave him for the decision to release him, Sitton texted back, “Call my agent.”
A message left for Sitton’s agent, Jack Reale, was not immediately returned.
The Packers, meanwhile, took the unusual step of announcing Sitton’s release -- but not any of their other roster moves as they got down to the NFL-mandated 53-man roster limit -- in a statement that came 24 minutes after the league’s roster deadline.
“We want to thank Josh for his contributions during his time in Green Bay. He has been an important part of the success we have enjoyed on the field,” Packers general manager Ted Thompson said in the statement. “While these decisions are never easy, this was done with a focus on what is best for the team and the growth of the offensive line. We wish Josh and his wife, Kristen, all the best in the future.”
Sitton, who turned 30 in June, entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2008. He started 125 games (including playoffs) in his eight seasons with the Packers and made the Pro Bowl in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and earned second-team All-Pro honors the past three years.
As recently as two weeks ago, Sitton was approaching this season thinking it might be his last in Green Bay – and gave no indication that he might not be around in 2016.
“I don’t think I approach the season any differently; I don’t think any of us do,” Sitton said during an appearance on ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde & Tausch” last week. “But [Lambeau Field] is a place a lot of people have on their bucket lists, and it’s a great place to come watch a game. So I’ve definitely told people, ‘Hey, get your butts up here, it could be my last year.’
“But you approach the season the same. You go prepare the same way, you approach the game the same way on the football field. Whatever happens, happens. It’s an exciting time, whether we get re-signed here or we go to free agency, for all four of us. So we’re just going to enjoy it.”
Sitton, who battled back problems in recent years, also said his back felt great this summer after he lost 25 pounds in advance of his offseason wedding.
“The back feels really good,” Sitton said. “Last year and the year before, I think I came into camp and it locked up right away and I missed a couple days. And the offseason before last, my back was locked up the whole time. I didn’t have any of those issues this year. It feels really good.”