A.J. Hawk is keeping busy during the NFL lockout.
His wrist, which required surgery to repair ligament damage that included inserting pins and wearing a cast for a few months, is "perfectly fine for training camp," the Green Bay Packers linebacker told the *Milwaukee Journal Sentinel*. The surgery took place right after Super Bowl XLV, and Hawk now wears a brace while working out six days per week.
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"I played the whole year with it, so it's fine; it will be all right," he said.
Hawk also joined Twitter in the offseason ("I still feel kind of weird on there," he said) and welcomed daughter Lennon in December with his wife, Laura.
The 6-foot-1, 247-pound linebacker said the defending Super Bowl champions are working out independently for now. Hawk indicated that the team might hold players-only practices, but he doesn't believe the defense will get much out of the sessions.
"The most the defense can do when we get together is seven-on-seven," he said. "I can understand quarterbacks throwing to receivers and stuff like that. I think it's more of a camaraderie thing.
"I've heard that different guys' workouts from different teams have just been a disaster. They're working out at bad high school fields and equipment and all that kind of stuff."
Hawk also took a moment to acknowledge the death of Osama bin Laden and the military personnel who participated in the raid that killed him.
"It's nuts to think that any professional athlete can play a sport and get paid a bunch of money and those guys are getting paid nothin' compared to that," Hawk said. "Kind of skewed a little bit. I know they don't want it because they're all so humble, but they should definitely get more recognition."
Hawk wears his hair long in honor of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, who quit football after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to enlist in the military. Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April 2004.
