Packers unlikely to pay Jackson’s price
The Green Bay Packers might be willing to offer defensive tackle Grady Jackson a low-level contract similar to the one he signed two years ago, but the team almost certainly isn’t interested in meeting his top-end salary demands.
After putting together a solid month of performances, Jackson on Thursday reiterated his stance that he wants to be paid on par with the league’s top run stoppers or he’ll go elsewhere next season.
The 32-year-old Jackson, who is listed at 345 pounds, is in the final year of a two-year, $2.31 million contract that included an $800,000 signing bonus. He claimed on Thursday there would be no chance he would return next season under a similar deal.
“I wouldn’t do it for that,” Jackson said. “I would come back if the money was right. If it’s right and fair, I wouldn’t mind staying.”
According to Jackson, he believes he’s playing at the same level as Buffalo’s Sam Adams, Oakland’s Ted Washington and Minnesota’s Pat Williams. Adams’ last contract was for four years and $10.25 million and included $3.1 million in guaranteed bonus money. Washington’s most recent deal was for four years and $14 million and included $4 million in bonuses. Williams’ was for three years and $13 million with $6 million in bonuses.
Jackson is younger than both Washington (37) and Williams (33) and is only six months older than Adams (32), but his bad knees and inability to regularly meet the team’s weight requirements make signing him to a lengthy contract with a large bonus a risk the Packers probably aren’t willing to take.
Jackson is just rounding into form after a slow start to the season. He missed nearly all of training camp while rehabbing offseason knee surgery and then was slow to fit into defensive coordinator Jim Bates’ system, which calls for the interior linemen to swallow up blockers and clear room for the linebackers to make plays.
After making just 11 tackles (including only five solo stops) in the first four games, Jackson has 22 tackles (including 13 solos) in the last four games.
“I’m proud of Grady,” coach Mike Sherman said this week. “He came into the season a little bit disgruntled and so forth and so on. He worked through those issues and he’s playing well. He put things aside and focuses on winning.
“I like having Grady Jackson on this team.”
Last summer, it didn’t appear Jackson liked being here. He briefly considered staging a training camp holdout but decided he couldn’t afford the $6,000-a-day fine. When he reported, he said he wanted to be cut or traded. Jackson hinted at the time that his unhappiness was about his contract but in a vague statement said he didn’t like the way he was being treated by the team’s front office.
He said on Thursday that he has no animosity toward anyone in the organization, and his feelings are purely financial. He said he has none of the same problems with the Packers that former cornerback Mike McKenzie had before he forced a trade last season.
“I don’t hate the coach,” Jackson said. “I like Coach Sherman. He’s a good guy. Bates’ system is fine. It’s nobody here. It’s just that I want the fair market value of a run-stopping D-tackle. That’s what I do.
“Nothing’s changed. If they want me here, they’ll keep me here. If they don’t want me here, they’ll let me go.”
Jackson said his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been in regular contact with the Packers, but they haven’t made any contract offers. There’s no indication the Packers will be willing to pay a part-time player — Jackson rarely plays in much more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps — the kind of money he is seeking.
“I think there’s probably a team out there that will (pay) me,” Jackson said. “Who knows, it might be here. It might be somewhere else.”
source : www.packersnews.com
After putting together a solid month of performances, Jackson on Thursday reiterated his stance that he wants to be paid on par with the league’s top run stoppers or he’ll go elsewhere next season.
The 32-year-old Jackson, who is listed at 345 pounds, is in the final year of a two-year, $2.31 million contract that included an $800,000 signing bonus. He claimed on Thursday there would be no chance he would return next season under a similar deal.
“I wouldn’t do it for that,” Jackson said. “I would come back if the money was right. If it’s right and fair, I wouldn’t mind staying.”
According to Jackson, he believes he’s playing at the same level as Buffalo’s Sam Adams, Oakland’s Ted Washington and Minnesota’s Pat Williams. Adams’ last contract was for four years and $10.25 million and included $3.1 million in guaranteed bonus money. Washington’s most recent deal was for four years and $14 million and included $4 million in bonuses. Williams’ was for three years and $13 million with $6 million in bonuses.
Jackson is younger than both Washington (37) and Williams (33) and is only six months older than Adams (32), but his bad knees and inability to regularly meet the team’s weight requirements make signing him to a lengthy contract with a large bonus a risk the Packers probably aren’t willing to take.
Jackson is just rounding into form after a slow start to the season. He missed nearly all of training camp while rehabbing offseason knee surgery and then was slow to fit into defensive coordinator Jim Bates’ system, which calls for the interior linemen to swallow up blockers and clear room for the linebackers to make plays.
After making just 11 tackles (including only five solo stops) in the first four games, Jackson has 22 tackles (including 13 solos) in the last four games.
“I’m proud of Grady,” coach Mike Sherman said this week. “He came into the season a little bit disgruntled and so forth and so on. He worked through those issues and he’s playing well. He put things aside and focuses on winning.
“I like having Grady Jackson on this team.”
Last summer, it didn’t appear Jackson liked being here. He briefly considered staging a training camp holdout but decided he couldn’t afford the $6,000-a-day fine. When he reported, he said he wanted to be cut or traded. Jackson hinted at the time that his unhappiness was about his contract but in a vague statement said he didn’t like the way he was being treated by the team’s front office.
He said on Thursday that he has no animosity toward anyone in the organization, and his feelings are purely financial. He said he has none of the same problems with the Packers that former cornerback Mike McKenzie had before he forced a trade last season.
“I don’t hate the coach,” Jackson said. “I like Coach Sherman. He’s a good guy. Bates’ system is fine. It’s nobody here. It’s just that I want the fair market value of a run-stopping D-tackle. That’s what I do.
“Nothing’s changed. If they want me here, they’ll keep me here. If they don’t want me here, they’ll let me go.”
Jackson said his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been in regular contact with the Packers, but they haven’t made any contract offers. There’s no indication the Packers will be willing to pay a part-time player — Jackson rarely plays in much more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps — the kind of money he is seeking.
“I think there’s probably a team out there that will (pay) me,” Jackson said. “Who knows, it might be here. It might be somewhere else.”
source : www.packersnews.com
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