woodbuck27
07-21-2006, 10:32 AM
TEAM EXPECTS FULL CROP
Thompson hopes every draft pick is signed by camp
By BOB McGINN
journalsentinel.com
The Green Bay Packers have signed five draft choices and expect to have the other seven signed before training camp begins July 28.
"We think we'll get them all by next Friday," GM Ted Thompson said Wednesday. "Andrew (Brandt) is working his tail off. There's always anxious moments, but we're going at it. I think things will work out OK."
Already signed to four-year contracts are cornerback Will Blackmon (fourth round), tackle Tony Moll (fifth), defensive tackle Johnny Jolly (sixth), safety Tyrone Culver (sixth) and defensive end DaveTollefson (seventh).
Each player got minimum base salaries of $275,000 this year, $360,000 in '07, $445,000 in '08 and $530,000 in '09.
Blackmon received a signing bonus of $433,500 and total compensation of $2.044 million.
Moll got a signing bonus of $145,000 and total compensation of $1.755 million.
Jolly got a signing bonus of $94,600 and total compensation of $1.705 million.
Culver got a signing bonus of $93,500 and total compensation of $1.704 million.
Tollefson got a signing bonus of $35,000 and total compensation of $1.645 million.
The five players will count $1.575 million in 2006 against the Packers' rookie pool of $6.648 million.
Green Bay's rookie pool, which is designated by the National Football League based on slots and number of picks, is the highest in the league.
In all, the Packers are $10.721 million beneath their adjusted salary cap of $103.954 million, giving them more cap space than 20 teams.
Although no first-round pick has signed a contract since defensive end Mario Williams with Houston April 28, Thompson said he wasn't deterred about making a deal with No. 5 selection A.J. Hawk if the numbers make sense.
The last time the Packers had a single-digit pick was cornerback Terrell Buckley, who went No. 5 in 1992. Buckley wasn't signed until 50 days past his reporting date. Guard Mike Wahle, a second-round choice in the 1998 supplemental draft, was the last rookie in Green Bay to hold out for any significant length of time. He missed the first 20 days.
Thompson didn't appear worried about cornerback Al Harris, who on June 20 said that he might not report on time because he regards his contract as undervalued. "No, I'm not concerned about it," he said. "I have not spoken to Al and I don't know that there is a situation. I read what you guys report. I expect all our players to be here. He is one of our leaders on defense and will continue to be."
Injury list:
With the first practice scheduled a week from Friday, the Packers appear enthusiastic about the condition of several veterans coming off injury.
One is linebacker Brady Poppinga, who underwent surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament Dec. 26. "He's way ahead of schedule," Thompson said. "It will be dicey if he's ready to go the first week of training camp but, remarkably, we think he has a very, very good chance of being ready prior to the start of the (regular) season."
The prognosis also looks good for running backs Ahman Green, who underwent quadriceps surgery Oct. 25, and Najeh Davenport, who had ankle surgery Oct. 10.
"Ahman is doing outstanding and Najeh is doing very well," Thompson said. "Ahman is a workaholic. He's feeling really, really good. Sometime during the pre-season, maybe not at the very start, we expect Najeh and Ahman to be back. We're going to try to be very cautious."
Steady as she goes: All 13 members of the Packers' scouting department are returning for another season and with the same assignments, according to Thompson.
"Nobody left, and we didn't run anybody off," he said.
The last scouts to leave Green Bay were Marc Lillibridge in September 2004 and Sean Howard in February 2004. Lillibridge, who now scouts for Kansas City, was placed on administrative leave after an incident in which he was convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault. Howard, who was fired by Mike Sherman and Mark Hatley, now works as a player agent.
New deal: The four-year, $17.026 million extension that wide receiver Donald Driver signed May 8 contains $6.25 million in bonus money. Driver received a $2 million signing bonus and, not long after, a roster bonus of $2.25 million. He also has roster bonuses of $1 million in 2008 and '09.
On the move:
Two players released by the Packers this spring, linebacker Robert Thomas and defensive tackle Donnell Washington, have landed one-year contracts with Oakland. Thomas got a $75,000 roster bonus.
Washington will play for the $350,000 minimum. The Packers gave up on Washington June 9. They traded up to draft him in the third round in 2004.
"There just wasn't anything there," Thompson said. "We couldn't take that many to camp and in my opinion he wasn't as good as the rest."
Thompson hopes every draft pick is signed by camp
By BOB McGINN
journalsentinel.com
The Green Bay Packers have signed five draft choices and expect to have the other seven signed before training camp begins July 28.
"We think we'll get them all by next Friday," GM Ted Thompson said Wednesday. "Andrew (Brandt) is working his tail off. There's always anxious moments, but we're going at it. I think things will work out OK."
Already signed to four-year contracts are cornerback Will Blackmon (fourth round), tackle Tony Moll (fifth), defensive tackle Johnny Jolly (sixth), safety Tyrone Culver (sixth) and defensive end DaveTollefson (seventh).
Each player got minimum base salaries of $275,000 this year, $360,000 in '07, $445,000 in '08 and $530,000 in '09.
Blackmon received a signing bonus of $433,500 and total compensation of $2.044 million.
Moll got a signing bonus of $145,000 and total compensation of $1.755 million.
Jolly got a signing bonus of $94,600 and total compensation of $1.705 million.
Culver got a signing bonus of $93,500 and total compensation of $1.704 million.
Tollefson got a signing bonus of $35,000 and total compensation of $1.645 million.
The five players will count $1.575 million in 2006 against the Packers' rookie pool of $6.648 million.
Green Bay's rookie pool, which is designated by the National Football League based on slots and number of picks, is the highest in the league.
In all, the Packers are $10.721 million beneath their adjusted salary cap of $103.954 million, giving them more cap space than 20 teams.
Although no first-round pick has signed a contract since defensive end Mario Williams with Houston April 28, Thompson said he wasn't deterred about making a deal with No. 5 selection A.J. Hawk if the numbers make sense.
The last time the Packers had a single-digit pick was cornerback Terrell Buckley, who went No. 5 in 1992. Buckley wasn't signed until 50 days past his reporting date. Guard Mike Wahle, a second-round choice in the 1998 supplemental draft, was the last rookie in Green Bay to hold out for any significant length of time. He missed the first 20 days.
Thompson didn't appear worried about cornerback Al Harris, who on June 20 said that he might not report on time because he regards his contract as undervalued. "No, I'm not concerned about it," he said. "I have not spoken to Al and I don't know that there is a situation. I read what you guys report. I expect all our players to be here. He is one of our leaders on defense and will continue to be."
Injury list:
With the first practice scheduled a week from Friday, the Packers appear enthusiastic about the condition of several veterans coming off injury.
One is linebacker Brady Poppinga, who underwent surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament Dec. 26. "He's way ahead of schedule," Thompson said. "It will be dicey if he's ready to go the first week of training camp but, remarkably, we think he has a very, very good chance of being ready prior to the start of the (regular) season."
The prognosis also looks good for running backs Ahman Green, who underwent quadriceps surgery Oct. 25, and Najeh Davenport, who had ankle surgery Oct. 10.
"Ahman is doing outstanding and Najeh is doing very well," Thompson said. "Ahman is a workaholic. He's feeling really, really good. Sometime during the pre-season, maybe not at the very start, we expect Najeh and Ahman to be back. We're going to try to be very cautious."
Steady as she goes: All 13 members of the Packers' scouting department are returning for another season and with the same assignments, according to Thompson.
"Nobody left, and we didn't run anybody off," he said.
The last scouts to leave Green Bay were Marc Lillibridge in September 2004 and Sean Howard in February 2004. Lillibridge, who now scouts for Kansas City, was placed on administrative leave after an incident in which he was convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault. Howard, who was fired by Mike Sherman and Mark Hatley, now works as a player agent.
New deal: The four-year, $17.026 million extension that wide receiver Donald Driver signed May 8 contains $6.25 million in bonus money. Driver received a $2 million signing bonus and, not long after, a roster bonus of $2.25 million. He also has roster bonuses of $1 million in 2008 and '09.
On the move:
Two players released by the Packers this spring, linebacker Robert Thomas and defensive tackle Donnell Washington, have landed one-year contracts with Oakland. Thomas got a $75,000 roster bonus.
Washington will play for the $350,000 minimum. The Packers gave up on Washington June 9. They traded up to draft him in the third round in 2004.
"There just wasn't anything there," Thompson said. "We couldn't take that many to camp and in my opinion he wasn't as good as the rest."