GREEN BAY - In the back of his mind, Whitney Mercilus anticipated for weeks his time with the only NFL team he’d ever known might be coming to an end.
The veteran pass rusher watched his Houston Texans pivot their course this offseason. The Deshaun Watson turmoil had thrown the franchise from contender into rebuild. And a rebuild is no place for a 31-year-old outside linebacker owed $10.5 million in his 10th season.
Mercilus knew he could be changing zip codes for the first time in his career. Still, there’s no preparing for the reality of that first call into the general manager’s office.