PLAYER UNSURE WHY PACKERS NOT GIVING HIM A RING

[Bretsky]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/123933944.html


Bell uncertain why he's not getting a Super Bowl ring


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By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel

June 15, 2011 2:02 p.m. |(51) Comments

The agent for Packers cornerback Josh Bell said his client has not been invited to the team's Super Bowl ring ceremony Thursday in Green Bay and doesn't know why.

Bell injured his foot in the team's intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 7 and was placed on injured reserve three days later. He chose to rehabilitate his injury with the team rather than accept an injury settlement and be released immediately.

The Packers aren't expected to bring Bell back once the NFL lockout is over.

"His time there, as part of the organization, he enjoyed it," said Bell's agent, Frederick Lyles. "This is kind of a surprise. It’s unfortunate. I don’t know if it’s an oversight, considering the attention being paid to the lockout. We just haven’t been able to reach them and find out."

The Packers signed Bell to a two-year deal on Nov. 24, 2009 after they lost cornerback Al Harris to a season-ending injury. Bell played in four games for the Packers and played solidly at times, but was best remembered for allowing a last-second touchdown to receiver Mike Wallace in a 37-36 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Packers felt Bell was worth keeping around and brought him back for training camp last summer, hoping he would compete for a nickel or dime position.

The Packers wouldn't comment specifically on Bell not receiving a ring.

"We haven’t discussed those details publicly," club spokesman Aaron Popkey said. "We feel it’s an internal matter out of respect for everyone involved."

Super Bowl ring distribution is the club's domain and isn't governed by the league. The league does reward Super Bowl bonus shares and anyone on the active roster, injured reserve and practice squad receives one.

When told of the Packers' response that they would not comment on Bell, Lyles said, "I'm not surprised."

Bell probably isn't the only player who was with the Packers in 2010 who didn't get a ring. Others who spent a short time on the team and weren't on the roster for the Super Bowl are not likely to get rings either.

It's possible, however, that Bell is the only member of injured reserve who won't receive a ring.

"The thing is he’s a part of the team no matter how you look at it," Lyles said. "He was injured playing. He’s still a part of the roster."

[MadScientist]

Seems odd, but perhaps the Packers just forgot about him. When his name was mentioned, my reaction was 'Who?'

[Patler]

Seems odd, but perhaps the Packers just forgot about him. When his name was mentioned, my reaction was 'Who?'

Since he was on IR and chose to stay in GB all season, its hard to believe it was just an oversight.

The article mentions that they offered him an injury settlement, which he declined. Thus, he was there by his choosing, not the teams' desire to keep him. He had broken his foot in early August. The Packers apparently felt he could have been cleared to play medically at some point during the season, thus they offered the injury settlement. Broken bones are often 6-8 weeks. If that's what this was, the Packers ended up paying him salary for 3 months when he could have accepted the injury settlement and looked for another team to sign with. Even at minimum salary, that's a lot of money.

They must have figured he wouldn't have made the team anyway, they don't want him back next year, he took a couple hundred in salary from the Packers on IR when he could have been looking for another team to actually play for (like Blackmon did), so enough was enough. It was within his rights to take the salary instead of looking to advance his career elsewhere, and it was within the team's right to not heap on the windfall he had gotten with a Super Bowl Ring on top of it.

I wonder about some of the players who were on the 53 man roster for only a week or two, like Gordy, Simpkins and Montgomery. I think there were a couple who were on the 53 man roster for just a couple weeks, but were never active for games. I wonder how many of them will get rings.

[Scott Campbell]

Seems odd, but perhaps the Packers just forgot about him. When his name was mentioned, my reaction was 'Who?'


He's the guy that got beat in the corner of the end zone for the game winner during the PIT loss in the 09 season.

[red]

seems like someone just cannot read the writing on the wall. sounds like the packers have done just about everything they can to get rid of the guys, yet he still thinks he's part of the team.

like a GF who still thinks you're still together even though you told her tramp ass to fuck off and never speak to you again, 2 years ago

[Pugger]

Was he just not invited to the ceremony? There is a chance he will be getting a ring but just not today. I'd be shocked if he didn't get a ring seeing he was on the roster last season even if he was on IR.

[Tony Oday]

He deserves a ring

[woodbuck27]

It's likely an oversight.

[Tarlam!]

He deserves a ring

+1

[Little Whiskey]

Maybe they gave his ring to Al Harris instead

[Tarlam!]

Maybe they gave his ring to Al Harris instead

The NFL pays for the better part of 150 rings. 150 rings! Murphy can't give a player that was injured in the mission a ring?

[Scott Campbell]

The players agent is running his mouth. The Packers brass are sticking with no comment. The player refused an injury settlement.

It's not too hard to put together what's going on here.

[Patler]

Just trying to put two and two together here:

He hurt his foot in the family night scrimmage, the first weekend of TC. A broken bone, so maybe a 6-8 week recovery time? That would have taken him 2-4 weeks into the season. The Packers offered an injury settlement, which would have allowed him to sign with another team and continue his career where he might have an opportunity to play. The Packers apparently had no interest in retaining him. Instead of accepting that, it appears he decided to "milk" the team for a full year salary, maybe 13-15 weeks worth after he was healed? (Just a guess on my part). Will Blackmon was in the same situation. He accepted an injury settlement and signed a few weeks into the season with the Giants. He, too, could have refused and stayed on IR.

Bell did nothing wrong, but may have used a situation to his advantage in getting a full year salary guaranteed rather than trying to continue his career with another team. He had no future with the Packers, they made that clear.

If my suggested scenario is even somewhat close to accurate, I can understand why the team felt enough was enough and didn't give him a ring.

This is one of the reasons why the proposal that has been discussed for a limited term IR designation makes sense.

[Tarlam!]

Good points SC and Patler. The agent statement, though, is no matter how you look at it, he was on the roster. If that's true, well then...

[Scott Campbell]

Good points SC and Patler. The agent statement, though, is no matter how you look at it, he was on the roster. If that's true, well then...


An injury settlement is basically the team asking you to go away quietly and paying you for your trouble. The Packers aren't going to further reward Bell for not taking the settlement. I expect that most teams would do the same.

[red]

you aren't allowed to just cut a guy who is injured without reaching an injury settlement. so the packers wanted to cut him, but he wouldn't sign. by no signing the settlement he forced his way onto the roster. when cut time came, either the packers could put him on IR, or they would have to keep a guy they didn't want over someone that they did want to keep.

i'm sure enough was enough as far as the team was concerned and this was just another way of them trying to tell him to "GO THE HELL AWAY, WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE"

[Patler]

Looking at articles about past champions, it is not uncommon for one or another IR member to not get a ring. The Saints had signed veteran guard Dan Campbell in the off season. He went on IR during training camp and did not get a ring last year. The reasoning with him was that he was rarely seen in NO after going on IR. But, he was an IR member every bit as much as all the others, and was within his rights to rehab wherever he wanted. Nothing required him to rehab in NO.

Some articles suggested that some teams did not give rings to anyone who did not spend time on the 53 man roster during the season. In that case, anyone who went on IR during TC would not get one.

[Scott Campbell]

Looking at articles about past champions, it is not uncommon for one or another IR member to not get a ring. The Saints had signed veteran guard Dan Campbell in the off season. He went on IR during training camp and did not get a ring last year. The reasoning with him was that he was rarely seen in NO after going on IR. But, he was an IR member every bit as much as all the others, and was within his rights to rehab wherever he wanted. Nothing required him to rehab in NO.

Some articles suggested that some teams did not give rings to anyone who did not spend time on the 53 man roster during the season. In that case, anyone who went on IR during TC would not get one.


Can you do me a favor and post the links? I'd love to read them.

[Patler]

Can you do me a favor and post the links? I'd love to read them.

If I can find any of them quickly, I will; but I didn't save any of them. I did a few searches a while back when the topic of Al Harris getting a ring came up and just skimmed through a bunch of articles.

[Patler]

This one wasn't too hard to dig up again:

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/06/new_orleans_saints_general_man_7.html


The club was more subjective with the players. Every player on the active roster during the season got one.
The Saints also rewarded selected players on the practice squad and injured reserve. For instance, Billy Miller and Mark Simoneau received rings. They stuck around all season, spent time in the locker room and in meetings and attended most of the games. Dan Campbell, who also was placed on injured reserve in the preseason and was rarely seen again, did not. That's fair.

[Cheesehead Craig]

He probably just wants the ring so he can sell it. The guy doesn't have much hope of a career for much longer anyways.

[Scott Campbell]

This one wasn't too hard to dig up again:

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/06/new_orleans_saints_general_man_7.html


Good read - thanks Patler!

[woodbuck27]

http://www.packers.com/team/roster/Josh-Bell/e732f312-a3fd-4d91-b653-f13baf38f9e7

[Tony Oday]

Al Harris got one and was injured BEFORE camp.

[Patler]

Al Harris got one and was injured BEFORE camp.

Yup. We had a good discussion about that right after the SB, before it was announced that he would get one. I, personally, saw a lot of reasons to not give him one, but didn't really care one way or the other. Others felt differently. If I had been the one to make the decision, I'm not sure how I would have decided.

I am more curious about a few players who were on the 53 man roster for only a week or two. I think some were never active on game day. I wonder if all of them got one. I suspect so.

The Packers also ran a lot of players through the practice squad this year. Again, some were there only for a week or two due to injuries making the roster "thin". Guys were brought in to begin preparing in case injuries turned out to be severe and new player had to be added to the 53. I doubt that all of the guys who were on the PS at any time during the year got rings, but I know at least some of them did.

[bobblehead]

Al handled himself with class and worked his ass off to rejoin the team. When they waived him he barely complained considering. He went about his business of trying to play with another team and you never heard anything but great things about the Packers from Al. He got a ring and deserved one. He practiced with the team during the season and acted like a pro. Good enough for me.

[Fritz]

Someone mentioned that they ought to be able to give Bell a ring cuz they received 150 of them. But when you start thinking about the organization and all the dedicated employees that have to do their job right in order for the whole organization to work, I bet that 150 rings goes fast. I mean, who is worth more to the franchise? The IR'd corner who was a very small part of the team and didn't contribute much, or the assistant to the assistant uniform person who's been busting ass for ten years for the organization, one small but key component to making the whole machine work.

It takes a damn machine to make the product on the field even happen, much less happen at the level of excellence acheived by the Packers.

[Scott Campbell]

Someone mentioned that they ought to be able to give Bell a ring cuz they received 150 of them.


The Packers can have as many rings as they like. The league pays for up to $5000/ea. for the first 150.

[Lurker64]

It's entirely likely the Packers would have cut Bell in training camp, but Bell's agent was unwilling to negotiate for an injury settlement (agents often do this when the timeframe of the injury is long, say more than 10 weeks).

From the perspective of "we wanted to cut this guy in August" it's easy to see why they didn't give him a ring. I mean Quinn Porter and Jason Chery helped us more during camp and the preseason than Bell did, and nobody thinks those guys deserve rings.

[red]

Someone mentioned that they ought to be able to give Bell a ring cuz they received 150 of them. But when you start thinking about the organization and all the dedicated employees that have to do their job right in order for the whole organization to work, I bet that 150 rings goes fast. I mean, who is worth more to the franchise? The IR'd corner who was a very small part of the team and didn't contribute much, or the assistant to the assistant uniform person who's been busting ass for ten years for the organization, one small but key component to making the whole machine work.

It takes a damn machine to make the product on the field even happen, much less happen at the level of excellence acheived by the Packers.

great point fritz. think off all the janitors and cleaners, the people that work in the pro shop and the HOF, the tour guides and reception people, maintenance and grass cutters and the folks who work in the concession stands, and the ticket takers and ushers

all those people did more for this organization this year then bell did

[Joemailman]

It's doubtful that was a season-ending injury. He could have accepted the injury settlement and been playing for somebody by November. Instead he decided to take the year off, and now wants a ring. I'm okay with what the Packers did.

[Patler]

It's doubtful that was a season-ending injury. He could have accepted the injury settlement and been playing for somebody by November. Instead he decided to take the year off, and now wants a ring. I'm okay with what the Packers did.

If it was a season-ending injury, the Packers could not offer an injury settlement unless it was for a full years pay. The "settlement" is a negotiation over the number of weeks for which he is paid. It often involves competing medical opinions and the settlement is based on them. Theoretically, it covers the time period during which he would not pass a physical.

[mission]

It's doubtful that was a season-ending injury. He could have accepted the injury settlement and been playing for somebody by November. Instead he decided to take the year off, and now wants a ring. I'm okay with what the Packers did.

Yeah, he took advantage of a loophole and it cost the Packers over 200k. Offering the settlement is basically an attempt to waive a player so it's not like they wanted him around. There's another forum where this discussion went over 13 pages with some people just completely unable to grasp the concept.

[Patler]

If the scenario is as it seems, Bell may have done himself a great disservice. He seems to be a fringe talent at this point, perhaps good enough to hang around on NFL rosters for a while and make some money as a reserve, and have a chance to develop. At times in 2009 he look like he had some ability. But, if he did play an injury situation to get a full season salary out of the Packers when he would have been healed long before the season ended, he may have effectively blackballed himself from the league. Like it or not, you have to "play ball" with the team in those situations. Will other GMs take a chance on him now, or simply go with another fringe talent?

Maybe he, his agent and his own doctor truly believed it was a season ending injury, in which case a full season's salary would be justified. Maybe he has no intention of trying to continue an NFL career, in which case it doesn't matter. But, if he hoped to catch on with another team for 2011, he may have a difficult time, especially after bringing notoriety to his situation by going public with his desire for a ring.

[KYPack]

If the scenario is as it seems, Bell may have done himself a great disservice. He seems to be a fringe talent at this point, perhaps good enough to hang around on NFL rosters for a while and make some money as a reserve, and have a chance to develop. At times in 2009 he look like he had some ability. But, if he did play an injury situation to get a full season salary out of the Packers when he would have been healed long before the season ended, he may have effectively blackballed himself from the league. Like it or not, you have to "play ball" with the team in those situations. Will other GMs take a chance on him now, or simply go with another fringe talent?

Maybe he, his agent and his own doctor truly believed it was a season ending injury, in which case a full season's salary would be justified. Maybe he has no intention of trying to continue an NFL career, in which case it doesn't matter. But, if he hoped to catch on with another team for 2011, he may have a difficult time, especially after bringing notoriety to his situation by going public with his desire for a ring.

100% Patler.

Bell has officially peed in the soup.