Tweet
I was going to say to be traded or cut, but we all know that nobody is going to give something up for him.
Team trying to trade Manuel
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - In an attempt to salvage something of their free agent swing and miss on veteran Marquand Manuel, the Green Bay Packers have been offering the safety in a trade.
Two National Football League team officials said the Packers had made it known that Manuel is one of the players they are willing to trade before the deadline for trimming rosters to 53 comes later today. A third source familiar with the player and the team said there were strong indications the Packers were talking with other teams about Manuel.
If the Packers do strike a trade, it's unlikely it will be for anything more than a low-round pick, and it very well could be on the condition that Manuel spend a minimum number of weeks on the roster. If the Packers don't reach a deal, there's no reason to think they'll keep Manuel on their 53-man roster, given his fall from starter last year to backup this year.
Manuel, 28, lost his starting job to former "street" free agent Atari Bigby midway through camp and didn't even play Thursday night in the exhibition finale against the Tennessee Titans. Instead of playing Manuel as a backup, the Packers took a long look at second-year pros Tyrone Culver and Charlie Peprah, who are competing for the fourth safety job behind Nick Collins, Bigby and rookie Aaron Rouse.
A number of teams have safety issues around the NFL, but it's questionable whether any of them will give up a pick to assure themselves of obtaining Manuel. If the Packers release Manuel, he will become a free agent, eligible to negotiate with any team of his choosing.
Any team that trades for Manuel will absorb his $1.26 million base salary this year and base salaries of $1.56 million in 2008, $1.86 million in '09 and $2.16 million in '10. It would be obligated to pay the '07 base salary only if Manuel was on the roster the first day of the regular season.
Among the teams that might have interest in a safety are Houston, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Carolina and Miami. The Seattle Seahawks, who attempted to re-sign Manuel before he left for a five-year, $10 million deal in Green Bay, have since upgraded their safety position and probably aren't interested anymore.
Should the Packers go with Collins, Bigby, Rouse and either Peprah or Culver, they're going to have a grand total of five years of experience at the position. Manuel is in his sixth year in the NFL.
General manager Ted Thompson signed Manuel before last season in hopes of filling a safety position that had fallen apart since the release of Darren Sharper in 2005. Manuel had directed the secondary for the NFC champion Seahawks and was brought in to quarterback a diverse unit featuring two veteran cornerbacks and a promising young safety.
However, he missed most of training camp with a calf injury, rubbed cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson the wrong way, proved incapable of handling the many man-to-man coverage assignments safeties must carry out in the Packers' defense and missed far too many tackles.
In training camp, Bigby proved far more athletic and equally sound in his assignments, earning the starting job after the second exhibition game. Bigby is far from a finished product, but the Packers are convinced they will be a better defense with his speed and tackling ability in the lineup.
No word yet: The Packers did not announce any cuts or trades, leaving a number of players in limbo heading into the final cutdown deadline today.
Among those waiting to hear something are kickers Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby, who have been engaged in a heated battle for one roster spot.
Crosby stumbled a little bit by missing a 52-yard attempt against Tennessee, but the way the ball exploded off his foot and traveled well out of the end zone, it was evident he has a legitimate shot of hitting from beyond 50 any time he's on the field.
"I hit that ball well," Crosby said. "Just with the wind and all that stuff, I just misjudged it a little bit and put it a little left. For a second, I thought I had it. It was coming back a little bit. I couldn't tell what the wind was doing. It seemed calm on the field but when the ball got up there it started moving."
Strange feeling: Bigby went to the same high school as Manuel (Miami Senior High) and the two are friends, so it has not been a normal battle for a starting spot between the two.
"Sometimes it feels like a business, but when it comes down to it at night, before I go to bed, it is weird," said Bigby, 25. "I'm against somebody that's so close to me. We came from the same background. Our struggles are somewhat the same."
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Green Bay - In an attempt to salvage something of their free agent swing and miss on veteran Marquand Manuel, the Green Bay Packers have been offering the safety in a trade.
Two National Football League team officials said the Packers had made it known that Manuel is one of the players they are willing to trade before the deadline for trimming rosters to 53 comes later today. A third source familiar with the player and the team said there were strong indications the Packers were talking with other teams about Manuel.
If the Packers do strike a trade, it's unlikely it will be for anything more than a low-round pick, and it very well could be on the condition that Manuel spend a minimum number of weeks on the roster. If the Packers don't reach a deal, there's no reason to think they'll keep Manuel on their 53-man roster, given his fall from starter last year to backup this year.
Manuel, 28, lost his starting job to former "street" free agent Atari Bigby midway through camp and didn't even play Thursday night in the exhibition finale against the Tennessee Titans. Instead of playing Manuel as a backup, the Packers took a long look at second-year pros Tyrone Culver and Charlie Peprah, who are competing for the fourth safety job behind Nick Collins, Bigby and rookie Aaron Rouse.
A number of teams have safety issues around the NFL, but it's questionable whether any of them will give up a pick to assure themselves of obtaining Manuel. If the Packers release Manuel, he will become a free agent, eligible to negotiate with any team of his choosing.
Any team that trades for Manuel will absorb his $1.26 million base salary this year and base salaries of $1.56 million in 2008, $1.86 million in '09 and $2.16 million in '10. It would be obligated to pay the '07 base salary only if Manuel was on the roster the first day of the regular season.
Among the teams that might have interest in a safety are Houston, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Carolina and Miami. The Seattle Seahawks, who attempted to re-sign Manuel before he left for a five-year, $10 million deal in Green Bay, have since upgraded their safety position and probably aren't interested anymore.
Should the Packers go with Collins, Bigby, Rouse and either Peprah or Culver, they're going to have a grand total of five years of experience at the position. Manuel is in his sixth year in the NFL.
General manager Ted Thompson signed Manuel before last season in hopes of filling a safety position that had fallen apart since the release of Darren Sharper in 2005. Manuel had directed the secondary for the NFC champion Seahawks and was brought in to quarterback a diverse unit featuring two veteran cornerbacks and a promising young safety.
However, he missed most of training camp with a calf injury, rubbed cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson the wrong way, proved incapable of handling the many man-to-man coverage assignments safeties must carry out in the Packers' defense and missed far too many tackles.
In training camp, Bigby proved far more athletic and equally sound in his assignments, earning the starting job after the second exhibition game. Bigby is far from a finished product, but the Packers are convinced they will be a better defense with his speed and tackling ability in the lineup.
No word yet: The Packers did not announce any cuts or trades, leaving a number of players in limbo heading into the final cutdown deadline today.
Among those waiting to hear something are kickers Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby, who have been engaged in a heated battle for one roster spot.
Crosby stumbled a little bit by missing a 52-yard attempt against Tennessee, but the way the ball exploded off his foot and traveled well out of the end zone, it was evident he has a legitimate shot of hitting from beyond 50 any time he's on the field.
"I hit that ball well," Crosby said. "Just with the wind and all that stuff, I just misjudged it a little bit and put it a little left. For a second, I thought I had it. It was coming back a little bit. I couldn't tell what the wind was doing. It seemed calm on the field but when the ball got up there it started moving."
Strange feeling: Bigby went to the same high school as Manuel (Miami Senior High) and the two are friends, so it has not been a normal battle for a starting spot between the two.
"Sometimes it feels like a business, but when it comes down to it at night, before I go to bed, it is weird," said Bigby, 25. "I'm against somebody that's so close to me. We came from the same background. Our struggles are somewhat the same."
Comment