I like Corey Williams.. if the Browns cut him loose, I sure the hell would want him back here, in a productive environment... the kid can play this game..

"pack93z" wrote:

I don't follow the Browns much, but I wonder if they'd ever consider moving him to NT. Williams is a big guy at 6ft 4in and 320 pounds and his transition to 3-4 DE hasn't exactly gone smoothly.

"masseyattack" wrote:

I have always said, and still believe that Williams looked better than he was. He was at best the 4th best Dlineman, and was in a race for that rank. Playing with Kampman, Pickett and Jenkins is going to make your life easier.

"PackFanWithTwins" wrote:

"pack93z" wrote:

After getting nowhere in preliminary talks toward an extension with Williams last spring, the Packers might just decide they can't afford to pay big money to another defensive lineman. Pickett is coming off a solid season, Harrell was given Williams' starting job even before camp opened and holdovers Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole look like capable backups.

"There might not," Williams said Thursday, referring to the possibility that there won't be enough money left for him. "If there ain't, then hell with them. Know what I'm saying? I can't hold my head down. It's the NFL."

Williams, who will turn 27 in two weeks, left little doubt on what he hopes will happen.

"I really would like to stay here," he said. "I hope I've done enough and I'm doing enough to make the people upstairs want to keep me around. But it's not my decision."

The Green Bay Packers engaged in some talks with free agent defensive tackle Corey Williams prior to putting the franchise tag on him, but it was pretty clear early that they were not going to be able to meet his asking price.

Williams' agent, Blake Baratz, said today that there was some dialogue between the two sides, but the Packers didn't want to pay what Williams thought he could get on the open market.

As it turned out, Williams received far more than the Packers were offering. According to Baratz, he signed a six-year, $38 million deal that will pay him $18 million in bonuses in guarantees. Only $9 million of the contract will be paid Williams the first year, but Baratz said he'll earn $23 million over the first three years and $27.5 million over the first four.

That makes the contract in the $7 million a year range given there's no guarantee Williams will see the final two years of the deal. It would have made Williams the highest-paid player on defense for the Packers.

The contract was negotiated Thursday night after the Packers and Browns agreed on a second-round pick in trade compensation. Baratz was then given permission to negotiate a long-term deal with the Browns. The Packers signed Williams to that deal and then traded him to Cleveland. The Packers will not incur any salary cap charge because of the way the contract was structured.

"We had some informal talks with the Packers, but it was clear we were on a different page," Baratz said shortly after the trade became official and Williams addressed the Cleveland media. "There was a difference between the value they saw and what we saw.

"In all fairness to Green Bay, they're deep at that position. You don't see that often when a team puts the franchise tag at a position that's so deep."

Baratz said the Packers were keeping their offer in line with what others had signed.

"When they were looking at Corey, they were considering the other contracts they had given guys like Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett," he said. "That was the kind of deal they were offering. We thought he could do better."

Baratz said Williams probably would have made more money if he had been on the open market, but he was happy with the contract he signed with the Browns. He said Williams was disappointed the Packers placed the franchise tag on him, but given the trade and the new contract "It worked out for both sides."

"pack93z" wrote: