GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers are standing by suspended defensive tackle Letroy Guion.
The team restructured the final two years of his contract, according to a source, and Guion signed it on Friday -- three days after the NFL announced it had suspended him for the first four games of this season. Guion was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs. In 2015, he served a three-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation.
Guion's new deal pushes back the two offseason roster bonuses he would have collected to later this season, the source said. Guion's original contract -- a three-year, $11.25 million deal he signed in February 2016 -- included roster bonuses of $400,000 each to be paid on the third day of the league year (Saturday) and on May 2.
Under the new deal, Guion will receive bonuses of $300,000 each if he's on the roster in Week 9 and Week 15.
Had the two sides not agreed to a restructured deal, the Packers would have had to either pay him $400,000 on Saturday or release him. Instead, they have essentially deferred any decision on Guion until after he returns from his suspension.
In the meantime, he will be allowed to participate in all offseason workouts, practices and preseason games.
Guion's base salary for this season remains at $1.7 million. However, he will lose four weeks of his salary - or $400,000 - because NFL suspensions are without pay. Guion also has weekly roster bonuses of $50,000 for every game he's on the 46-man active game-day roster.
In 2018, Guion's base salary was reduced to $2.55 million from $2.75 million, but a $250,000 roster bonus due on the third day of the league year was added. He also has a $200,000 workout bonus and a $50,000-per-week roster bonus.