Dog Face Gremlins211 0 Posted April 25, 2006 While weighing which player to take with the fifth overall selection, the team is in the process of trying to sign free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson and entertaining the idea of trading wide receiver Javon Walker. Charles Woodson should be trying on his new uniform soon. Charles Woodson should be trying on his new uniform soon. Woodson is expected to decide between Green Bay and Tampa Bay in the next 48 hours, and the Packers hope they have more success with the free-agent cornerback than they had with the free-agent linebacker LaVar Arrington. Woodson's agent, Carl Poston, said he hoped to have a decision early this week, but was unsure how it would unfold, Green Bay or Tampa Bay. Until then, Packers will wait for Woodson's word while getting word from other teams about how interested they are in Walker. Today, the Packers began fielding telephone calls, and offers, in terms of trying to decide whether it is worth it to trade Walker. The Packers made it clear they only will trade Walker for the right price -- a high price. Yet there are enough teams debating Green Bay's request. Teams at the top of the list include Denver and Philadelphia. But there are at least three confirmed others that weighed today. There is no shortage of suitors for Walker, meaning that it is looking more and more as if Green Bay will ship out the wide receiver who has stated he will not play again for the Packers. However this all plays out with potential signings and trades and the draft, Green Bay's roster could have a markedly different look by this time next week. BUSH AND WILLIAMS Houston isn't negotiating so much as it is waiting. It is waiting to see whether Reggie Bush or Mario Williams is more receptive to fielding its offer. But it's not like the Texans are swapping proposals with either Bush or Williams. Just the opposite, in fact, according to people involved in the talks. The Bush camp has made one proposal to the Texans and the Texans one to him. The Texans have made one proposal to Williams, and he has not countered, at least not as of today. Houston general manager Charley Casserly will spend a lot of time on the phone this week. Houston general manager Charley Casserly will spend a lot of time on the phone this week. But here's something else to remember. One prominent agent said the deal for the No. 1 pick cannot include any more than $21 million of guaranteed money -- $3 million less than the San Francisco 49ers gave last year to No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith. The reason for this is that Smith's contract was over six years with an option for a seventh, while the contract for this year's No. 1 pick will be over five years with an option for a sixth. The numbers make it so that an agent will have to be highly creative, brilliant even, and that might not be enough to concoct a scenario under which this year's No. 1 overall pick will be guaranteed as much money as in Smith's six-year, $49.5 million deal. So the negotiations for the No. 1 pick shape up to be difficult, and that helps explain why the Texans would like to have a deal sealed before they make the pick April 29. Now the Texans must sift through this information and factor it into their selection. The selection still looks like it will be Bush, but the Texans have insisted they have not made their decision and won't until later this week. Until then, they will debate each player's skills, each player's character, each player's asking price, and the latest Bush/USC/In-The-House situation. Then they will write down the name of the draft's No. 1 overall pick, hand it to the commissioner ... and hope they made the right choice. RICKY'S BIG DAY Everyone with any stake in the Ricky Williams hearing has urged the NFL to hand down its verdict this week, before the draft, and the decision could be announced as early as April 25. After hearing the case of Williams' attorney, David Cornwell, the league will make one of two choices. Ricky Williams might have to sit out a season for the second time in three years. Ricky Williams might have to sit out a season for the second time in three years. It will suspend Williams from football for the next year, or it will allow him to play football this season. Should the league reinstate Williams -- and Cornwell is said to have done a superb job arguing his case -- then the Dolphins could begin fielding offers for their running back and try to trade him before the draft. And there would be interest. The Denver Broncos, seeking a frontline back, would be expected to jump right into the bidding for Williams' services. The Broncos already were involved in talks with the Dolphins this winter, when word of Williams potential suspension leaked out. But if the league rules against Williams and suspends him for a year, then he is out of the league, out of sight, and out of mind. Nobody knows the decision. But they all expect it to come very soon. MANNING IS A BEAR Chicago's third-round draft pick has gone in return for a public relations nightmare. About 48 hours after signing Ricky Manning Jr. to a five-year offer sheet worth about $21 million, the restricted free-agent cornerback was arrested on suspicion of assault April 23 after a fight at a restaurant near the UCLA campus. Then today, the Panthers opted not to match the offer sheet. Manning now is the Bears' property, and Chicago's third-round pick now is the Panthers' property. But even before the Panthers declined to match, the Bears would have been unable to rescind the offer sheet to Manning. To do that, they would have needed written consent from Manning and the Panthers. Neither side was likely to grant written consent, meaning that Manning was Chicago-bound anyway. So Chicago gets a solid cornerback and an embarrassing situation. http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9393943 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
