posted under: Bubba Franks, Corey Williams, Packers
Surprise! Williams Gets Tagged
Looks like Cheesehead Aaron will not get his wish to be done with all the Corey Williams talk, because the Packers announced late today that they have designated him as the franchise player rather than let him walk in free agency.
This is a bit of a surprise move by Ted Thompson, who is now committed to paying Williams a little more than $6 million for one season unless they either negotiate a long-term deal or a trade. On the other hand, it does mean if another team wants to sign Williams away, Green Bay will get two first-round draft picks as compensation. Sounds like a win-win however this plays out.
It seems this will also come as a surprise to Williams and his agents, one of whom told the Press-Gazette the other day he had not had any contact with the team about a new deal or the use of the franchise designation. Clearly they have not gotten very far in negotiating any deal, so I’m guessing a trade is in the offing.
On a more sombre note, the Packers also announced today that they released Bubba Franks. This also came as a bit of shock when I first saw the headline but really it isn’t too surprising. Despite his best efforts to resurrect his career this past season, Franks never quite got over the hump, and then a knee injury that sidelined him for several games also sidelined that effort. Franks is 30 years old now and was due to be paid $3.5 million, so TT made the smart decision to cut him and start looking for a younger replacement.
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February 20th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Wow. I am really glad I went to GB this year and saw Bubba play. Nice guy and good player. We will miss you, Bubba.