The Jacksonville Jaguars signed unrestricted free agent defensive end Aaron Kampman to a contract today. Length and terms of the contract are undisclosed.
Kampman is entering his ninth NFL season after spending the past eight years with the Green Bay Packers. A two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2006 and 2007, Kampman played in 112 games with 104 starts for the Packers. He has recorded 54 career sacks and has at least 9.5 sacks in three of the last four seasons. He is tied for fifth in the NFL from 2006-09 with 40.5 sacks. His career totals include 592 tackles, 13 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
Kampman, 6-4, 260, moved from defensive end to outside linebacker in 2009 as the Packers switched to a 3-4 defense. He started nine games and finished with 55 tackles and 3.5 sacks and ranked second on the club with 28 quarterback hits despite missing seven games. He suffered a season-ending knee injury on November 22 against San Francisco and missed the remainder of the season.
The former Iowa standout recorded 85-plus tackles and led the Packers in sacks in three of the last four seasons. He has recorded multiple sacks in 12 games and has not gone more than six games without a sack since the 2004 season. He combined for 27.5 sacks in a two-year span from 2006-07. In 2006, he led the NFC and ranked second in the NFL with a career-high 15.5 sacks along with a career-high 113 tackles. He ranked sixth in the NFL in 2007 with 12 sacks as he made his second straight Pro Bowl. He ranked second in the NFL among defensive linemen in 2005 with 102 tackles.
A native of Kesley, Iowa, Kampman was a teammate of Jaguars center Brad Meester at Aplington-Parkersburg High School and played under the late Ed Thomas. Meester and Kampman are two of four current NFL players to play at the school, along with Casey Wiegmann and Jared DeVries.
Kampman was a four-year letterman at Iowa where he played linebacker for two seasons before moving to the defensive line. He finished his career with 342 tackles and 18 sacks and was a two-time Academic All-America selection.
Kampman, and his wife, Linde, have three sons, Lucas, Ben and Elijah. Along with his wife, Kampman is heavily involved in community work. They have made several trips overseas in the recent years including a trip to Kenya in February of 2009 to assist Vapor Sports Ministries. In 2007, they took a two-week tour of India as guests of Gospel for Asia and they spoke to U.S. troops stationed in southwestern Germany in 2005.
