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Oates: Price not right on Walker deal
By TOM OATES
608-252-6172
[email protected]
GREEN BAY — Ted Thompson wasn't even through taking his well-deserved bows for adding A.J. Hawk — a can't-miss linebacker from Ohio State — to the Green Bay Packers' overmatched defense when Javon Walker's name came up.
Walker wasn't in Green Bay when the NFL held its draft Saturday, but in his case, out of sight was not out of mind. The wide receiver has been a headache for Thompson, the Packers' second-year general manager, since the season ended, telling people he was so unhappy over the way he'd been treated that he would retire before he played for Green Bay again.
Actually, Walker has been a headache for longer than that. A first-round draft pick in 2002 and a Pro Bowler in 2004, he first threatened to sit out the 2005 season because the team wouldn't renegotiate his contract.
He eventually capitulated, then suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Packers' first game.
Thompson and his new coach, Mike McCarthy, had said very little about Walker, but it was widely assumed that if the Packers were going to rid themselves of the Walker headache, Saturday would be the perfect time.
The draft was short on high-end wide receivers and several teams were interested in Walker. But despite differences that appeared to be irreconcilable, a draft-day trade wasn't assured, something Thompson acknowledged after he had taken Hawk with his first-round pick.
"There are some teams interested, but this is going to be a fair trade for the Green Bay Packers or Javon's going to be a Green Bay Packer," Thompson said. "This is not going to be a fire sale."
A short time later, Lambeau Field burned to the ground.
Just kidding, of course, but if getting a second-round pick — No. 37 overall — was the best the Packers could do for Walker, Thompson should have walked away from the table. He should have kept Walker and played hardball with him.
True, Thompson was walking a fine line Saturday. If he traded his star wide receiver for less than fair value, he ran the risk of setting a precedent and opening the floodgates for any disgruntled player who wants out of Green Bay.
Thompson wasn't around then, but the Packers had already been down that road with cornerback Mike McKenzie, who forced his way out in 2004. Still, the Packers insisted they got what they needed for Walker.
"Absolutely," McCarthy said. "We wouldn't have made the trade if we didn't think we got fair value for Javon."
McCarthy said the Packers didn't go into the day thinking they had to get rid of Walker at any cost.
"It was clearly based on his value," he said. "We had an asking price and it was met."
In that case, the Packers' asking price was too low. In a draft where only one wide receiver, Ohio State's Santonio Holmes, was taken on the first round, Walker's value was as high as it would ever be.
Yes, there were complications. Thompson correctly pointed out that Walker was in the final year of his contract and that his injury was a risk for teams.
The Packers, who had the 36th pick, tried to gain leverage on the Broncos by trading it to New England, which took Florida's Chad Jackson, the second-rated wide receiver on many boards but one who didn't fit Thompson's preferred profile.
After the Walker deal was consummated, the Packers immediately traded the 37th pick to Atlanta, essentially for the 47th (second round) and 93rd (third round) picks. They eventually traded the latter pick for a fourth and a sixth.
If you distill those numbers, you'll see that the Packers traded a Pro Bowl wide receiver for Daryn Colledge, a guard from Boise State taken in the second round, and two second-day draft picks.
That may not be a fire sale, but rest assured Denver didn't pay full price. The trade also provided a road map out of Green Bay for any player unhappy — were you watching, Donald Driver? — with his contract, a notion McCarthy disputed.
"Obviously, this is something that's been created some time ago, long before I got here," he said. "But I'll just say this, life is full of experiences and it's given us some knowledge on how we would deal with this in the future."
The key, McCarthy said, was the keep people's emotions out of the process, something that clearly didn't happen with Walker.
"It needed to end," McCarthy said, "and it ended today."
At this point, the Packers can only hope that's true.
By TOM OATES
608-252-6172
[email protected]
GREEN BAY — Ted Thompson wasn't even through taking his well-deserved bows for adding A.J. Hawk — a can't-miss linebacker from Ohio State — to the Green Bay Packers' overmatched defense when Javon Walker's name came up.
Walker wasn't in Green Bay when the NFL held its draft Saturday, but in his case, out of sight was not out of mind. The wide receiver has been a headache for Thompson, the Packers' second-year general manager, since the season ended, telling people he was so unhappy over the way he'd been treated that he would retire before he played for Green Bay again.
Actually, Walker has been a headache for longer than that. A first-round draft pick in 2002 and a Pro Bowler in 2004, he first threatened to sit out the 2005 season because the team wouldn't renegotiate his contract.
He eventually capitulated, then suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Packers' first game.
Thompson and his new coach, Mike McCarthy, had said very little about Walker, but it was widely assumed that if the Packers were going to rid themselves of the Walker headache, Saturday would be the perfect time.
The draft was short on high-end wide receivers and several teams were interested in Walker. But despite differences that appeared to be irreconcilable, a draft-day trade wasn't assured, something Thompson acknowledged after he had taken Hawk with his first-round pick.
"There are some teams interested, but this is going to be a fair trade for the Green Bay Packers or Javon's going to be a Green Bay Packer," Thompson said. "This is not going to be a fire sale."
A short time later, Lambeau Field burned to the ground.
Just kidding, of course, but if getting a second-round pick — No. 37 overall — was the best the Packers could do for Walker, Thompson should have walked away from the table. He should have kept Walker and played hardball with him.
True, Thompson was walking a fine line Saturday. If he traded his star wide receiver for less than fair value, he ran the risk of setting a precedent and opening the floodgates for any disgruntled player who wants out of Green Bay.
Thompson wasn't around then, but the Packers had already been down that road with cornerback Mike McKenzie, who forced his way out in 2004. Still, the Packers insisted they got what they needed for Walker.
"Absolutely," McCarthy said. "We wouldn't have made the trade if we didn't think we got fair value for Javon."
McCarthy said the Packers didn't go into the day thinking they had to get rid of Walker at any cost.
"It was clearly based on his value," he said. "We had an asking price and it was met."
In that case, the Packers' asking price was too low. In a draft where only one wide receiver, Ohio State's Santonio Holmes, was taken on the first round, Walker's value was as high as it would ever be.
Yes, there were complications. Thompson correctly pointed out that Walker was in the final year of his contract and that his injury was a risk for teams.
The Packers, who had the 36th pick, tried to gain leverage on the Broncos by trading it to New England, which took Florida's Chad Jackson, the second-rated wide receiver on many boards but one who didn't fit Thompson's preferred profile.
After the Walker deal was consummated, the Packers immediately traded the 37th pick to Atlanta, essentially for the 47th (second round) and 93rd (third round) picks. They eventually traded the latter pick for a fourth and a sixth.
If you distill those numbers, you'll see that the Packers traded a Pro Bowl wide receiver for Daryn Colledge, a guard from Boise State taken in the second round, and two second-day draft picks.
That may not be a fire sale, but rest assured Denver didn't pay full price. The trade also provided a road map out of Green Bay for any player unhappy — were you watching, Donald Driver? — with his contract, a notion McCarthy disputed.
"Obviously, this is something that's been created some time ago, long before I got here," he said. "But I'll just say this, life is full of experiences and it's given us some knowledge on how we would deal with this in the future."
The key, McCarthy said, was the keep people's emotions out of the process, something that clearly didn't happen with Walker.
"It needed to end," McCarthy said, "and it ended today."
At this point, the Packers can only hope that's true.
