Report: Packers' A.J. Hawk underwent ankle surgery

Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk underwent surgery immediately after the season to remove bone spurs from his ankle, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. 

Hawk insisted several times throughout the season that he wasn't playing through an injury, even after quarterback Aaron Rodgers indicated that he was. He appeared in all 18 games, including the playoffs, but saw his playing time decrease towards the end of the season. 

Hawk, who is listed at 235 pounds, lost weight to compensate for the injury, Demovsky reports. 

The 31-year-old has one year remaining on his contract at $3.5 million. The Packers have not asked Hawk to take a pay cut or indicated that they plan to release him, according to Demovsky. However, head coach Mike McCarthy did say Thursday that inside linebacker is the team's biggest area of need.

"I think the inside linebacker position could probably be compared to where we were last year at the safety position," McCarthy said at the scouting combine. 

"Obviously we had a number of moving parts there. So we'll see what this process that we go through as far as player acquisition, how that affects it. I like the step Sam Barrington made. I thought he made a huge step and that's what you look for."