Green Bay Packers linebacker Sam Barrington has insisted that he will take charge of his side's defense next season.
The NFC North outfit have released veterans Brad Jones and AJ Hawk to leave Barrington atop the depth chart as the club's middle linebacker and signal-caller on the defensive side of the ball.
Barrington has revealed that he is ready to take ownership of the defense after becoming a regular in the team towards the end of the 2014 season.
"I'm not approaching it that it 'could' be," Barrington told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I'm approaching like it is.
"When you take out all the pleasing everybody's emotions, I'm the veteran inside linebacker. It's my defense. What's mine right now is mine to lose. So I approach it with a serious mentality."
Barrington recorded 53 tackles and one sack for the Packers in the 2014 season.