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Packers might sit on Couch
Team would prefer to wait until after draft
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 24, 2004
First it was Billy Volek. Now it's Tim Couch.
The Green Bay Packers are covering all their bases in the pursuit of a quarterback who might someday replace Brett Favre in the starting lineup.
While on a scouting trip that is expected to bring him to the Miami (Ohio) University campus Thursday to scout highly touted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Packers coach Mike Sherman stopped in to see Couch, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 draft.
Still a member of the Cleveland Browns, Couch is on the trading block following the Browns' acquisition of former San Francisco 49ers starter Jeff Garcia. The Browns gave the Packers permission to negotiate a deal with Couch in anticipation of a trade.
Sherman and members of his personnel staff were unavailable for comment.
The likelihood of a deal being completed soon is slim because the Packers would prefer to wait until after the draft before making a move on Couch. If they are unable to draft a quarterback, they would pursue Couch.
The Browns want to make a deal right away so they can obtain a draft pick they can use this year. If the Browns aren't able to trade Couch - and there aren't many teams interested in dealing for him - they are expected to release him after June 1.
The only reason the Packers would trade for him is so they can avoid having to compete with other teams for his services after he is released. Before the Packers can make a trade, they would need to renegotiate the final two years of Couch's contract, which call for him to earn base salaries of $7.6 million and $8 million.
It would probably cost the Packers a low-round pick to obtain Couch.
Couch's agent, Tom Condon, is seeking to land his client with a team that would have an opening in the starting lineup relatively soon. Sherman's discussion with Couch probably had a lot to do with how long Favre intended to play.
It's unlikely Sherman could answer that question, just as he couldn't when Volek, the Tennessee Titans backup, made a free agent visit earlier this month. Condon might try to place Couch with a team whose quarterback position is less settled.
The Browns have asked Couch to take a pay cut to $3 million a year, but he has refused.
Couch's tenure in Cleveland has been marred by injury and failure. Since coach Butch Davis took over in 2001, Couch's career has gone downhill and he wound up sharing the starting position with Kelly Holcomb most of last year.
In five seasons, he has a career passer rating of 75.1 and has thrown three more interceptions (67) than touchdowns.
Still, there are some people in the NFL who think a change of scenery and a new offense would serve him well.
"The guy can play that offense (in Green Bay)," said a personnel official for an NFL team. "He's a good athlete."
Besides Favre, the only other quarterback on the Packers' roster is third-year pro Craig Nall. The Packers have not ruled out re-signing backup Doug Pederson if they are unable to obtain a free agent or draft pick.
Meeting in the middle
Rather than allow an arbitrator to rule on a grievance former Packers linebacker Nate Wayne filed against the team for payment of a $750,000 bonus due last March, the two sides reached a settlement.
Packers vice president of player finance Andrew Brandt said the settlement was reached before the scheduled hearing Monday. He would not divulge the details.
"We reached an amicable settlement," Brandt said. "Terms are confidential."
Wayne's agent, Harold Lewis, declined to comment.
The Packers were forced to carry $375,000 of the bonus on their salary cap last season while the grievance was pending. If they had lost the grievance, they would have had to pay the entire $750,000 to Wayne and count another $375,000 against the cap this year.
Wayne claimed the Packers released him after the roster bonus was due.
