A.J. Hawk For Marshawn Lynch: Connect The Dots
By Brian Carriveau on Sep 15, 2010 with 46 Comments
There were rumors as far back as the offseason that the Packers could trade for Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch. Nothing substantial, mostly–if not entirely–fan speculation.
Once Ryan Grant went down for the season after suffering ligament damage and a fracture to his ankle, the speculation intensified.
It began with an article from Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver–a University of California alum–who said it made sense to reunite former Cal teammates Lynch and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers:
For all of his off-the-field issues and feelings of displacement in Buffalo, the Oakland native might be a great fit in Green Bay. He’s a team-oriented player who played at Cal with Aaron Rodgers, the most important player in the Packers’ post-Favre universe, and who immensely enjoyed his predraft visit to Titletown in 2007, where by all indications he made a positive impression.
Then came an interview conducted by Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with Rodgers who seemed very open to the possibility of adding Lynch to the team:
“He’s a great player,” Rodgers said of Lynch. “And any character issues the team might see, I think in a situation like that, and I think you’ve seen that with other players across the league, when you give a guy a change of scenery and a guy like that who feels he might have something to prove, and surround him with two guys, (Desmond) Bishop and myself who played with him…I think that can only help him feel comfortable and see a lot of production.”
Further fueling the fire was an interview by the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Rob Demovsky with Hawk’s agent, Mike McCartney, basically saying his client would be open to a trade if it meant he got more playing time:
“A.J. is a pro’s pro and wants to do his part to help the team win, and his first priority is to be the best Packer he can,” McCartney said when reached by phone on Wednesday. “But if some team called and wanted him to play on all three downs, I think he’d be excited about that.”
On top of it all, now add information that A.J. Hawk’s house is for sale, confirmed by Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin among other. Add it up, and you’ve got one juicy rumor brewing.
And yet, all the conjecture could be for naught. Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network says the Bills are telling teams that Lynch is not available.
So what will be the final verdict? Given the Bills and the Packers are playing each other this weekend, more than likely nothing would happen until after the game even if it was a possibility.
Now it’s just a game of wait and see.
Filed Under: A.J. Hawk • Packers News • Trade rumours
“I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.”
This makes me giddy with excitement. But we all know to take this with a tiny grain of salt.
According to Zillow, the house has been on sale for 8 days. Hawk’s long term prospects in Green Bay are questionable at best, so why would he be moving unless he’s on his way out?
Just sayin’.
it makes too much sense to US…Ted won’t do it. He has his own master plan.
true
For 2 years I have been a critic of Hawk, taking a lot of heat for my comments.
The writing is on the wall when an agent makes that kind of statement before the trade dead line.
I still think theres only a 15% chance something happens this season, but book the fact Hawk will not be a Packer next year. The only way he is a Packer next year is that the packers cut him (getting out from under that 10 million dollar contract)and nobody is interested in him and TT gets him back cheap.
Prediction sounds familiar, only replace ‘Hawk’ with ‘Harrell’ and you’ve got the same failed formula. Not saying it won’t happen, but saying ‘book it’ is a bit aggressive, no?
Making the prediction even more questionable: Bishop is in a contract year ans hasn’t proven he can take on the role. There’s nobody else on the roster other than Bishop (no, it ain’t Chillar) that can play base 3/4 defense (unless we’re going to perpetual nickel).
So unless TT does some crazy acquisition/drafting in the next 2/3rd’s of a year I can’t venture to say, ‘book it’.
Mathews lined up at the ILB position and performed rather well, his best position is definitely OLB, but IMO he is better than Hawk/Bishop and as good as Chillar if not better.
If Zombo develops into a player that can hold down the OLB position, Mathews flexibility helps with the depth at the ILB and makes Hawk expendable.
I believe Hawk’s fate rests with the performance and play of Zombo in the next 2 or 3 games. If Zombo progresses to starter material, Mathew’s flexibility makes Hawk less necessary as far as depth.
All of what you list above is either from nickel or a sub-package. Not a single one of those players is a base 3-4 inside LB. Not one….
After Bishop, Hawk and Barnett you are completely devoid of base 3-4 LB’s. Again, you’re no longer running a 3-4 unless you replace Hawk with somebody.
I think Mathews could hold his own playing ILB in the base defense, his best position is OLB no question.
I am talking about depth and only using Mathews like that only if the injury bug hit that position if we traded Hawk.
Chillar and Bishop can hold down the position when we play base. If Hawk is traded I would expect TT to pick up a promising young ILB from someones practice squad.
In an emergency situation, Mathew’s flexibility is kind of like Kuhn’s situation with our running backs.
No, place Matthews in the middle only and you take away his angle. He could only rush forward from that position. Premier pass rushes never, in the history of the league rush from the inside lb position. No way, never does a roster OLB take majority snaps there….. ever…
Bedard’s piece is classic Bedard pot-stirring. (I love the guy, but he’s a pot-stirrer to be sure).
On the radio this morning he has his typical disdainful attitude toward fans who are asking about Lynch, dismissing it out of hand as a non-starter based entirely on his ability to read Ted Thompson’s mind. Then he goes to Rodgers with these questions and gets this quote up on the site. Great work Greg …
matthews will stay an olb i know he has the flexability but we’d need to have matthews on the edge whether he’s passrushing or not. Maybe if zombo comes into play brad jones could fit into the middle or bishop will be just fine in the middle with barnett.
By Thompson’s own admission, he trusts his college scouting more even when it comes to pros. Can’t find the exact quote, but earlier this year he said he’d refer back to the college scout report to evaluate a pro. We all know he liked Lynch back then. Maybe he’ll see the end of Harrell and the beginning of Lynch as a sign from above that the pick he wanted to make in ’07 is finally going his way.
On the surface it seems VERY unTT-like to make this trade. HOWEVER. If we lose Hawk next year to free agency, we’d get nothing in return. Although we might get a compensatory pick.
Anyway, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. The two teams play each other this week, so various GM office people might have a chance to meet and discreetly go back and forth with some offers.
I don’t think the Pack will even get a compensatory pick for Hawk because he is still under contract for 10 million.
Thus the Packers have to cut or release him to get out of that contract. I don’t think you get a compensatory pick for a guy you cut.
Kampman was not under contract, and we could not resign him, different situation.
[...] The Packer Twitter-world was a buzz last night with the talk of a Packers trade for Buffalo running back Marshawn Lynch & AJ Hawk putting his house on the market. If you missed it, Aaron over at CHTV has a good recap of all the going ons. [...]
[...] it’s debatable what that change will look like. Rumors have swirled that Hawk will be traded, but when is the last time Packers general manager Ted Thompson traded a [...]
can we fatten hawk up real quick… like 40 lbs or so? we could use a dlineman right about now.
If GB were able to pull off some kind of trade for Lynch, it would allow them to use their 1st round pick in 2011 in another area besides RB …… If not, RB will be priority 1 in the offseason ….. With 15 games yet on the schedule, the RB situation in 2010 is still very much in flux ….. No way GB will stand pat with BJ, Kuhn & Nance ….. Obtaining Lynch would solidify the position, perhaps for the next couple of years.
Agreed.
Not… sure… I… agree… with… that….
Why would you think they would use their 1st rounder on RB? Grant will be healthy (by all accounts he probably could have returned late this season, give him 6 months on top of that, he will be ready) and Jackson will be there. My $$$ is on CB or OLB in the 1st as of now. It’s been proven RB’s can be found later in the draft (more-so than effective CB’s). I think Ted may be a bit gun-shy about taking a RB that high again when his last high draft pick RB is still on the roster in a back-up role.
GBP 4 LIFE
TT was also gun-shy about ever taking an OL in round 1 until 2010 with Bulaga ….. Four seasons with Grant, Jackson & somebody else isn’t likely to turn into a 5th season in 2011 …..
Obtaing Lynch would allow TT to focus on CB or OLB ….. If B. Jones and/or Zombo fizzle in 2010, then OLB would definitely be a priority …..
To clarify …… Lynch, Grant & Jackson in 2011 sounds better than Grant, Jackson & another PS RB who led his college team in rushing.
I think gun-shy is the wrong word. I’m not sure when he was hired by the Seahawks in 2000 or how much influence he had over that draft, but that year they drafted Chris McIntosh. The next year, when I know he had a great deal of influence, they drafted Steve Hutchinson in the first round. Given that you only get 1 first round pick a year (on average) it’s hardly unreasonable to say that in 10 years a team may not take any position group in the first round strictly based on the essentially random chance of who is available at their pick.
The RB, in the Packers’ offense, has 3 roles:
1) Be good enough so that teams play somewhat honest.
2) Pass protect.
3) Run the ball when we have the lead, to kill the clock.
Unless Walter Payton #2 falls to our lap, there’s no way TT will use a 1st rounder on a RB.
If this were any team but the Bills, I would get excited about the thought. But the Bills’ front office is arguably more messed up than the Raiders. If they don’t want to trade Lynch, they won’t even think about it, and I don’t care what we offer. The only ray of hope I have is that the Bills seem to LOVE our castoffs (Brohm, Meredith) so maybe they’ll think about Hawk for Lynch.
This trade scenario almost makes too much sense to ever happen.
Packers desperately need an NFL caliber HB besides Jackson. No, McCarthy, Kuhn and Hall are not viable options.
Buffalo just happens to run a 3-4 and have been hit with injuries to ILBs Kawika Mitchell (IR) and Paul Poslusny.
The only part that doesn’t fit in a Hawk for Lynch swap would be the financial side. Hawk is due to receive $4.6 mil this year, while Lynch only $885,000.
Even in an uncapped year that difference may nix any trade. The Bills Buddy Nix may be the only GM that could rival TT’s frugality.
Here’s a list of GB “wannabee RBs” since & including season 2007 …… D. Wynn, V. Morency, K. Lumpkin, Q. Porter, even T. Sutton & now D. Nance in 2010 ….. It seems as if A. Green wasn’t even a consideration this time around ….. So add him to the list ……
Face it, the RB position has not been deep for the last 4 years (Geez, our BU RB is a fullback)…… GB has been fortunate that Grant has been healthy the whole time until now ….. To be an arm’s length away from making major noise in 2010 & fall short because no one respects our running game would be unacceptable, IMO.
You have to play the odds ….. Odds are the RB trio of Jackson, Kuhn & Nance won’t cut it ….. However, the odds increase when the names change to Lynch, Jackson & Kuhn/Nance.
Watch out, also, for that ‘false sense of security’ …… The next four opponents are the Bills, Bears, Lions & Redskins ….. All games that GB should win regardless of their RB situation ….. Most teams shy away from change when they are 5-0 to start the season ……. But the 2nd half schedule is much more difficult.
No it hasn’t been deep.
But can you actually say that it has been a PROBLEM since Grant’s been here?
Bingo ……Now you’re getting it …. Grant’s no longer available…..
The last time I got excited for a rumored Packer trade, it was for Randy Moss. That never happened either..
Here’s why: http://www.nationalfootballpos.....twice.html
Just watched the Tivo’d ‘Inside the NFL’ from last night. Thought it was kinda funny when they were talking about Houston’s big win, they singled out Vontae Leach as a ‘beast’, our old FB. This game is fluid, amazing what achange of scheme/scenery can do for some.
GBP 4 LIFE
I just don’t see it happening, as much as I would like it to..remember James Starks has the ability to come back after week 6 and I’m sure Ted is using Starks as a back up plan
I think this is right, much as it pains me as a Lynch fan. Ted just has so much belief in his draft picks.
Still, I am holding out hope that he looks at this roster and imagines what would happen if BJax went down in the next few weeks (a guy who has had injury history, I think). We would literally have a PS-caliber rookie who didn’t know the playbook and Kuhn. That’s a little scary.
Yea, James Starks, the Justin Harrell of RB’s. There’s a guy we can count on. When was the last time he played football, 2008? And, like Harrell, Ted made the same mistake—draft an injury prone player.
To use a late round pick on a gamble makes sense with Starks, if he is healthy and overcomes his bad luck thats one hell of a pick for a 6th.
Justin Harrell made no sense by risking a first round pick on him with his injury history. I bet Harrell would have been there in the second maybe third round.
No, the Broncos said they were taking him with their 1st round pick (the next pick, I believe). After the draft, it was reported there were more than just the Packers and Broncos willing to drop a mid first-round pick on Harrell.
Denver would’ve taken him.
What luck Denver had. They instead drafted DE Jarvis Moss at 17 who has been injured every year and basically a bust.
Not saying we did the right thing, because there’s no spin you can put into it that says drafting Harrell was anything other than a bad move. Yes, hindsight 20/20, we needed DT, Harrell had talent, etc…
That was Shanahan. He’s in DC at least in part because his draft day thinking was along the lines of “Drat! Justin Harrell is gone, guess Jarvis Moss it is”.
just keep an eye on it