Required Reading for Javon Walker

Greg C.

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THE SILENT SAFETY
Ravens' Reed is greatly underpaid, but isn't balking
by Jeffri Chadiha, Sports Illustrated

Of all the remarkable feats performed by Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed during his three-year career, his most impressive is the silence he's maintained over the last six months. During an offseason when stars all over the league are complaining about their contracts and demanding new deals, the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year hasn't uttered a peep about being underpaid. Why do I bring this up today? Simply put, Reed has more reason to whine about his current financial situation than any other big-name player.

We're talking about a two-time Pro Bowler who has two years left on a contract that pays him $550,000 in base salary this season. That's phenomenal money for the average guy, but for a player who has established himself as the league's top safety, it's laughable. To understand how big a bargain Reed is, consider that 84 safeties made more than his $513,000 total compensation in 2004 -- and 48 of them earned more than $1 million. What's even more astounding is that Reed hasn't pressured the Ravens to get a new deal. When asked if he would be willing to sit out training camp, he said, "It would be a shame if I had to hold out to get a new contract. And I don't plan to."

I give Reed credit for his trust in the Ravens front office. As we've seen lately, most players wouldn't be willing to sit back quietly and let this play out. But Reed has earned a reputation for his maturity, his ability to see the big picture. And as much as he'd like to sign a new deal before this season begins, he understands the situation the Ravens face. Baltimore recently signed two-time Pro Bowl tight end Todd Heap to a six-year extension. The Ravens also have to decide on the future of running back Jamal Lewis, who is entering the final year of his contract. That leaves Reed waiting and wondering when he'll get his.

It has to be a tough spot only because Reed already means more to Baltimore than Heap or Lewis. The former Miami Hurricane has led or tied for the league lead in interceptions in each of the last two years. In 2004, he picked off nine passes and returned them for an NFL-record 358 yards. He scored on a fumble return and a league-record 106-yard interception return. He forced fumbles, registered sacks and knocked more than a few wide receivers sideways. And those are merely the plays that you saw Chris Berman hyping on NFL Primetime.

Reed is so good at disguising himself in coverage that even his own teammates have a hard time locating him in the secondary on pass plays. He's so savvy that he can baffle the most experienced quarterbacks. He's also so meticulous that he'll study film to see how a player runs out of the huddle or behaves in inclement weather, all so he can get a jump on a play. "There are guys who play 10 or 12 years who become instinctive by playing in a lot of games," said 49ers head coach Mike Nolan, who served as the Ravens defensive coordinator from 2002-04. "Ed has been in the league three years and he already has that ability."

Reed's rapid rise into the realm of elite players only increases his leverage with the Ravens. When he arrived as a rookie in 2002, the Ravens defense had been ravaged by salary-cap cuts. His presence helped that unit quickly re-establish its dominance. He has improved every year since, increasing his interception total each season (from five, to seven, to nine) and giving no indication that he can't sustain that production for years to come. As good as Reed is, he's still learning the game.

As his career progresses, he'll become the face of the Ravens whenever seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis retires. Reed has that same infectious spirit as Lewis, that ability to motivate and lead, and the way Reed is handling himself through this offseason is an indication that he loves the game of football more than the business of it. Is it a gamble? Sure. Any serious injury could severely damage Reed's current leverage. But I suspect the Ravens will take care of him before he loses his patience.

He's their future and it's best to let a player like that know he's thoroughly appreciated. It's also just as important that such a player let the team know he can handle such matters without things getting nasty. Reed has sent the Ravens the message that he can play by their rules for now. Aside from missing a voluntary passing camp, Reed has met all of Baltimore's expectations this offseason. He attended the Ravens' mandatory mini-camp in June and he hasn't said anything about vanishing when training camp starts later this month.

My guess is that Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach Brian Billick appreciate that greatly. They could be dealing with a lot of drama. Instead, they've gotten lucky. At a time when it's become trendy to talk about players "outperforming contracts," they have a big-time star who's willing to trust that his good work will be rewarded in due time.
 

packedhouse01

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I heard on a Milwaukee radio talk show yesterday that they expect Javon will no longer be a Packer by the end of July. Any comments?
 

NDPackerFan

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Tell you what. Some team wants to throw in a top-notch CB or Safety and a 1st or 2nd round conditional pick, and GB should throw him out the door. T-Murph is gonna be the man anyway, wait and see!
 

wpr

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packedhouse01 said:
I heard on a Milwaukee radio talk show yesterday that they expect Javon will no longer be a Packer by the end of July. Any comments?
Yeah. "Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out."

It is too bad ego gets in the way of so many players these days.
 

PackerTraxx

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The only way I would trade him was if it was very lopsided in my favor, otherwise he sits. If you trade you are inviting more of the same.
 

packedhouse01

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I agree traxx. Unless what you can get for him is overwhelming, let him sit, but if he doesn't show up for camp then he also gets to sit out the season. I'm not talkign about missing most of camp and then coming in when the paychecks start either. I'd call his agent and let him know in no uncertain terms that if he's not in on opeing day of training camp, he's not coming in at all and will sit out the season. Anything less than that, and you're going to have a mass exodus from Green Bay in another year for any player who wants more money. Stop it now.
 

digsthepack

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Gotta agree with you Traxx and Packed...the deal HAS to be in our favor, or the message is sent that you lose a year of vesting and income if you pull this kind of garbage in GB. Personally, I love Javon's game, and would like to see him in Green and Gold..but I think it is time for the Packers, and the teams of the league, to send a message to players who pull this stuff.

Hey, if they don't like the small number at the back end of a contract, perhaps they might enjoy it at the front of the contract in the form of smaller signing bonuses. Perhaps then they will not feel like paupers in their final contract years!

Think anyone would go for that??
 

packedhouse01

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The problem is that there is limited money available because of the salary cap. That means teams have to decide who gets the big money and who plays for less money. Simply put, Javon hasn't earned the right to have big money and hence he's still playing under his rookie contract. For God sakes, the Packers have already acknowledged that they're willing to redo his contract, but not with two year remaining on the old one. As for Grady, he played in 38% of the plays last year, that's just enough enough contribution to warrent a multi-million dollar deal. Now if he can get someplace good for him, but he has to fullfill his contrac to the Packers before he can do that. If you want to earn that kind of money then you have to produce all the time like big money players do. And if they're goin to pull stunts like holding out, then I say, let them sit unless the trade you make is over powering. Would I like to see both of those guys playing, yes. I think we're much better with them than without them, but we can't have them bullying us either.
 

wpr

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PC I sure hope that's not your **** in the post! :shock: :oops:
 

HatestheEagles084

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NDPackerFan said:
T-Murph is gonna be the man anyway, wait and see!

this is what i was saying about walker in '02 and '03...i know we traded up to draft this guy for a reason and I proved a LOT of people wrong last year on another forum when I said Walker was going to emerge as a top reciever...really makes me sad and I hope there's a happy ending

I'm still hoping for the best...talk radio is talk radio, sometimes it's dead right, sometimes they just try to fill air time...regardless this Walker situation has nowhere to go but down, it doesn't look good...
 

Ludders86

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I heard some rumours of a possible trade between GB and philly on the EMB. Not that one can trust those slimy birds but it seemed to be something like Javon for their DT COrey Simon and a draft pick or something like that! The reasoning behind it being that if we have problems with Grady we'd be willing to overpay for a good DT whilst the eagles could use Javon if TO keeps up his antics. May just be nothing but maybe worth checking out if you're interested-Sorry don't know how to post links!!
 

PWT36

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Javon Walker is going nowhere. He has to fulfill his contract or sit. The Packers will not trade him. The same goes for the Eagles and TO. You cannot reward a hold out with ticket out of town and perhaps out of their valid contract by the trade route.
 

Zero2Cool

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Has anyone researched how well players have played after they sat out one year? I'm not sure I've heard of any real success in that method.
 

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