I am appalled that Jennings would say something like this publicly! As laudable as his intentions surely are, and as much as I love watching Driver on the field week after week, I am rational enough to realize that the Packers would be insane to accept a poison-pill clause like that. Only a fool of a GM would allow a player to blackmail the team into sacrificing its future well-being to cater to a player's friendship or to curry fan favor. If Thompson inked such an asinine deal,
I would hop on the "Fire Ted Thompson" bandwagon.
Jennings must know a deal like this would never happen and is simply engaging in some
serious flag-waving for the benefit of the fans. Either that, or his desire to remain in Green Bay isn't nearly as strong as he makes it out to be.
Now as to
pack93z's question, my answer is a resounding YES. I cannot imagine any probable scenario under which Crabtree would fall to No. 9, so all of this is a moot point; but if he did, that would imply most, if not all, of the elite linemen had already been snapped up, and thus unquestionably, the Packers would have little choice but to take him. Crabtree would offer this team a chance to secure an elite receiver for at least the next six years, while it's doubtful Driver will give us more than three or at most four. We have to remember that Driver consistently plays hurt; he's beating up his body more than almost any player on our offense; and there is going to come a day -- perhaps sooner than most of us are willing to admit -- when he won't be able to answer the bell. I hope we have a capable replacement to step into his shoes before that day comes.