Broncos, Walker part company
Linebacker Gold also is released; Jackson OKs deal
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 29, 2008 at 2:02 p.m.
Updated March 1, 2008 at 1:33 a.m.
Photo by Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
Javon Walker was unhappy about having to share passes with Brandon Marshall.
It didn't have to end this way.
Javon Walker wanted to make that point clear Friday after learning he was released by the Broncos. It was a move that had been anticipated nearly since the moment the wide receiver publicly ranted at season's end about his role with the team's offense.
"I'm not leaving because I didn't want to make it work," he said. "I'm not pushing my way out. There was stuff done that led to make me say, 'Why should I stay?' "
He said the issues mostly began when he hurt his right knee early last season. He claimed he got the sense the team was being murky about the condition of his knee, which was later repaired surgically in Houston.
That situation came on the heels of a consistent personal belief that his skills weren't fully being utilized - thoughts he occasionally made public, even while leading the team in catches (69) and yards (1,084) in 2006 and into his quiet comeback last season.
But the real change in his feelings, he stressed, came while he was rehabilitating during the season and was approached by the media and was asked about the possibility this offseason of taking a pay cut.
Add in a nominal role once he returned while Brandon Marshall took over No. 1 receiver duties, and those negative emotions only heightened, leading to "frustration" that became his postseason diatribe.
However, the 10-minute media session in early January was somewhat calculated, too, he admitted.
"I knew something would happen or come out of it."
The Broncos eventually went to Walker and asked whether he would be willing to tweak his contract, which included $5.4 million in bonuses.
He refused.
When there were no takers on the open market, at least via trade, it sent Walker into free agency for the first time. He'll join weak-side linebacker Ian Gold, who also was cut by the Broncos on Friday.
"With me coming back here, I'm supposed to take a pay cut? Why would I want to do that?" Walker asked, explaining all that changed in his situation was that he got hurt.
Walker on Friday consistently insisted Marshall's ascension as a 100-catch receiver wasn't the root cause of his unhappiness, but rather part of a yearlong span in which he signed with Denver, got hurt, then was ask to cede money.
"If people say I won't play second fiddle, just be on the lookout for who I might be lined up across on the other side next season," Walker said. "And if you look at that, then why couldn't it have been like that in Denver?"
Still, it was clear the fundamental aspects of the Broncos offense, with a young quarterback in Jay Cutler attempting to come into his own and the team leaning more on the running game, never were going to satisfy Walker, especially with Marshall's development.
"There would have been enough balls," Walker said, despite those feelings. "We could have both had 70-80, however it would have went, 80-90. But like I said, there was a lot of frustration that built where after they were like, 'Take a pay cut,' it was whoa, whoa, whoa . . . ' "
Among the teams that could grab Walker are Philadelphia, where quarterback Donovan McNabb has been a steady training partner, and Dallas, where his former position coach in Green Bay, Ray Sherman, is employed in a similar role.
"I'm looking for a team that wants to win and use their receiver talent to win and get them where they need to be," Walker said.
Walker noted he has been training for about the last month and that his knee, which also was repaired after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2005 with the Packers before he was dealt to Denver, feels good.
"A team flies me out for a physical, I pass. It's a done deal," he said.
That rosy outlook on his health goes against Broncos coach Mike Shanahan's assessment at his season-ending press conference. It was mentioned there that Walker at some point will need microfracture surgery to allow him to heal completely.
It's a statement Walker and his agent have been trying to downplay since.
"He's not a doctor, so he doesn't know what I'm going to need," Walker said of Shanahan's comments. "And I've talked to doctors and seen doctors and believe you me, I'm not going to need that. It's just him saying that. If he's a head coach and a doctor? Shoot, I give him props that he can do it all."
Walker and Shanahan never met after the season to try to hash out any differences.
"If they wanted to meet, they would have met with me," Walker said.
In two seasons with the Broncos, Walker started 21 of 24 games, with 95 receptions, 1,371 yards and eight touchdown catches. He rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown.
The cost to the Broncos was a 2006 second-round pick and nearly $7 million in dead money on the salary cap.
"I'm going to go to a team and have a hell of a season next year," Walker said. "In football, you get injuries. It's the nature of the game. It's not going to be a problem or anything that slows me down. I just look forward to the next step in the process."
Gold will have a similar opportunity after his release, which followed a significant dropoff in his play last season for Denver's 30th-ranked run defense.
Ending his second stint with the Broncos, after the 2000 second-round pick returned in 2005 as a free agent, Gold started 67 of 99 games and had 426 total tackles, including 81 last season.
He's expected to be replaced in the starting lineup by Jamie Winborn.
Also Friday, Denver agreed on a two-year, $2 million contract to bring back tight end Nate Jackson. The contract includes incentives and escalators.
rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com
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February 29, 2008
2:22 p.m.
Suggest removal
Pigskin writes:
"For Denver, it got one-year-plus of production out of Walker for the cost of a second-round draft pick."
What a bargain. The bell tolls on another first-rate personnel move.
February 29, 2008
2:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
primedsc writes:
Just be thankful we didn't give up Dominique Foxworth for that tub of goo in Detroit (Shaun Rogers).
February 29, 2008
2:42 p.m.
Suggest removal
Squatch writes:
Come on Mike get in on the Randy Moss sweepstakes!!!! wish we could have traded Javon for Jonathan Vilma. DJ & Vilma would have been nice.
February 29, 2008
3:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
Dude writes:
get Moss, as is Randy Moss
February 29, 2008
3:42 p.m.
Suggest removal
T1anda writes:
Walker is a mal-content...he was unhappy in Greenbay also. Players know that when ya can't stay healthy someone else will always step up and grab the oppertunity to get your job. Unfortunately, that's the business of the meat markets....er....pro-football.
February 29, 2008
3:53 p.m.
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JTTAAB writes:
Ah yes and ticket prices went up again too.
February 29, 2008
4:15 p.m.
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OrangeCrush_77 writes:
Wow RickyLee, that's pretty harsh. Think we could have signed Engleberger and Nate Jackson without the new stadium? Nate Jackson fever . . . catch it!
The Broncos are signing all these depth guys, which is fine if you don't have massive freaking holes to fill all over the place. There is no way (especially considering how the poorly the Broncos traditionally draft) that they are going to find a quality Safety, Linebacker, O-lineman, D-lineman, Kick/Punt returner, Fullback, Punter & Kicker in the draft.
For all of you Shanny apologists who say that the Broncos aren't that far away, are just doing some rebuilding, and will be back in the playoffs next year . . . you better start praying now.
February 29, 2008
4:16 p.m.
Suggest removal
Squatch writes:
I can Guarantee you that if the Broncos had left town we would have begged the NFL for another franchise and paid 3 times what the current stadium cost. Get over the Stadium cost already i forgot that it doesnt get used for anything else. I dont feel sorry for anybody who has season tickets when the price goes up since they sell the Rivalry game tickets for 3 times the face value.
I've been on a waiting list since 1997 so if you ever want to not pay for them I will.
February 29, 2008
4:25 p.m.
Suggest removal
dirkle writes:
Javon was a whiner and would have metastasized into big-time locker room cancer this year. Good riddance, FunnyGirl.
Good luck to Ian (Crash-Test-Dummy) Gold though. He at least earned his checks.
February 29, 2008
5:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
Broncos4Life writes:
So are the Broncos going to show some interest in Isaac Bruce as a quick fix until they find someone in the draft? Because we all know thats how the Broncos plan on building the next great dynasty of the NFL, through the draft! Come on Shanahan, do something in the draft that's not such a risk, take the guys that look and play like real players. We've had enough Maurice Clarett types to last a life time. Quit trading the mid round picks for stiffs who can't play. Do some actual research and then go get the goods. Do something to justify Bowlen raising the prices again for another mediocre season.
February 29, 2008
6:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
Spidey writes:
He needs to focus on FOOTBALL, not MONEY :-P Perhaps the death of Darrent Williams affected him pretty badly. I guess
he came in as a Bronco and left as a Donkey, anyway Good Luck walker dude!
February 29, 2008
6:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
R8R_H8R writes:
Please! get Arizona Cardinal Free Agent W/R Bryant Johnson. He is the top available wide receiver and Denver needs to fill the void left by the Loser that left. In a fill in, back up role, Johnson had over 700 yds receiving and proved he is solid.
February 29, 2008
8:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
4shortofa100 writes:
Dude, it's time to get over it. Besides, you've lost what? Pennies? Seriously.
I wasn't a fan of it either, and I hate the notion of public stadium financing. But there are higher callings in life than being an internet spoon.
February 29, 2008
10:25 p.m.
Suggest removal
princess writes:
I say good bye to cry baby sally. Granted what happened with D-Will was tragic he wasn't interested in being with Denver. His head wasn't in it and his comments he said in previous months about not wanting to be in Denver was just a way to see if Denver would pay more to stay. He wanted to go so we let him go then he wants to complain. Then he complains that he was gonna come back but didn't want the pay cut. News flash you have to play to get paid. I've never had a job where I could not do work and get paid. He's like a damn high school girl who can't make up his mind. He needs to get over himself. As far as Ian goes. Good luck to where ever you go and whatever you do.
March 1, 2008
12:43 a.m.
Suggest removal
LarryB writes:
Wow. So they don't even bother to sit down and talk to Javon, but they go after Nate Jackson. I wish Nate had Javon's body, or Javon had Nate's attitude. But they don't.
I'm not even making any sense here. It's going to take a while to figure this one out . . .
March 1, 2008
6:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
cmcray1 writes:
What a steaming pile of CR.Ap. Cya later Lelie urrrr Javon. Your ego outsizes your abilities!
March 1, 2008
9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
terryr55 writes:
Walker is spewing the same crap that he did in Green Bay. I'm sure he's going to be "ALL-WORLD" next year...give me a break! They couldn't even get a low draft pick for him! Does he really think he's going to get another big contract? He's a trouble-maker and damaged goods...bad combination!! He's all about Javon!! I say good riddance!! Somebody needs to tell the guy and other malcontents like him that "the clock is ticking" on their careers...think Latrell Sprewell has figured out what life after basketball is like?
March 1, 2008
12:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
millertime3852 writes:
OrangeCrush...I'm shocked at your negativety. You must be one pleasant person to hang out with. I'm a regular commentor on the Post's website, but still read these comments on occasion. And everytime I do, there's ol' OrangeCrush ripping up all things Broncos. It'd be one thing if you knew what you're talking about, but to just be negative to be negative is pathetic.
I'd be one of those Shanahan apologists that has a pretty good feel for how far away we are, and here's what I think.
People like you list all of the 'need' positions that the Broncos have, and I can't argue with the list for the most part. Though you can't have a bead on our o-line and it's needs, if any, based on the fact that 4 of the 5 starters were first year starters at their position. And the one that wasn't, Lepsis, was playing alongside 4 new starters. Two of our starters were injured and are supposedly coming back for this 1st and 2nd down, and bring in Curome Cox and/or Foxworth to play the big nickel, then we can push off our needs at Safety for another year perhaps.
year. And even if they don't, which I know Nalen will, the other guys now have a year under their belt.
And at Safety, if we have Abdullah and Lynch in on Anyway, my point is this...Denver does have a list of need positions. And it may be as extensive as 6 or 7 different positions that we need help at. But there isn't a team in the league that doesn't have a few need positions, not Indy, not New England, not San Diego... IF Denver had to fill every one of their need positions in order to be competitive, then you might have a point. But they don't have to be perfect, a team without any needs...they need to fill a few needs this year, a few needs next year...and so on.
March 1, 2008
12:25 p.m.
Suggest removal
millertime3852 writes:
Allow me, if you will(not that you have a choice), to look at all the positions you feel we 'need' in order to be competitive, and let's see if I can convince anyone that we are in fact, only a few players away from being a playoff contender.
1. Safety - With Lynch and Abdullah playing on running downs, and Cox, Cargile and Foxworth able to come in and play the big Nickel, we can put off safety as a 'must have' for this year. I agree that it would be nice to draft one to get a year under his belt to take Lynch's place, but we're only talking about being competitive this year, and that group of safeties, while not stellar, are workable.
2. Linebacker - Definitely need a solid LB for this season. Whether we pursue Briggs, or address it in one of the first 3 rounds, this is a 'must have' for this year in order for us to compete. If we could sign Briggs, then a LB core of Briggs, DJ and either Winborn or Webster would be a top 10 in the league. Briggs and DJ are both top notch, and the other would be servicable. But I don't know any team that has 3 or 4 top shelf LB's.
3. O-linemen - Ryan Harris at LT is the biggest ? by far. But he was a projected 1st rounder before his back injury in college. Otherwise a starting line-up of Hamilton, Nalen, Holland, Pears and Harris would be just fine. We'd still have Chris Meyers and Chris Kuper as backups, and I'd guess that one of those two may actually beat out Holland or Pears.
4. D-linemen - Definitely a 'must have' before we can compete next year. Look for Denver to address DT in either the 1st or 2nd round, and I could still see Dewayne Robertson from the Jets coming to the Broncos soon.
5. Punt/kickoff returner - A luxury position that isn't a 'must have' this year. Andre Hall averaged 23 yards per return on kick-offs, which is in the middle of the pack for returners. Would it be nice to have Joshua Cribbs? No doubt. But having a kick-off returner that's better than half the teams in the league does not make this a 'must have'. At punt returner, a 5th round WR/punt returner or CB/punt returner could easily be had. I do see us drafting one in the later rounds, but if we had to, Dre Bly is more than capable of returning punts. We don't 'have' to draft a returner to be competitive.
March 1, 2008
12:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
millertime3852 writes:
6. Fullback - Again, this is a luxury position, not a must have. Fact is, Denver is the #1 rushing team in the NFL even after Howard Griffith departed. I would love to see us draft Owen Schmitt in the 4th/5th round, but it's more a 'want' than a must have. And there are two very good Fullbacks still available on the market in Lorenzo Neal and Tony Richardson...they would be more than adequate for the next year or two.
7. Punter - Clearly we have to have a punter on the team. Denver could draft the top 1 or 2 punters in the draft in the 7th round, or perhaps even signed as an undrafted free-agent after the draft.
8. Kicker - Same deal here. We have to have a kicker no doubt. But the top kicker in the country could be had with one of our four 6th or 7th rounders...or after the draft even.
So I guess I don't see how it's so unrealistic for us to be competitive this year. We have 8 draft picks as of now...with the potential of 4 more coming as compensatory picks.
So if we draft:
1st Round: Keith Rivers or the top DT available.
2nd Round: Dre Moore, Pat Sims or Red Bryant, or the top LB available.
4th Round: Top WR on the board.
4th Round: Owen Schmitt at Fullback.
5th Round: Josh Barrett, 6'3", 220lb Safety out of AZ State.
5th Round: Top Returner on the board, whether it be CB/Returner, or WR/Returner.
7th Round: Top RB for our system.
7th Round: Top Kicker, which would probably be the first or second kicker drafted.
Undrafted free-agent: Top Punter, D-linemen from small schools or that had injuries drop them out of the draft.
And on the free-agent market:
Shoot for Lance Briggs, Dewayne Robertson and Bryant Johnson. We'll land one of the three if we pursue them. And I'm assuming you just forgot to mention WR as being a need position.
So that's it folks. If we have an off-season like that, there is no reason in the world that we won't be competitive next year. Call me an apologist,
March 1, 2008
12:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
millertime3852 writes:
Man, somehow my comment got all messed up. This is how that first post was suppose to read. I don't know what happened.
OrangeCrush...I'm shocked at your negativety. You must be one pleasant person to hang out with. I'm a regular commentor on the Post's website, but still read these comments on occasion. And everytime I do, there's ol' OrangeCrush ripping up all things Broncos. It'd be one thing if you knew what you're talking about, but to just be negative to be negative is pathetic.
I'd be one of those Shanahan apologists that has a pretty good feel for how far away we are, and here's what I think.
People like you list all of the 'need' positions that the Broncos have, and I can't argue with the list for the most part. Though you can't have a bead on our o-line and it's needs, if any, based on the fact that 4 of the 5 starters were first year starters at their position. And the one that wasn't, Lepsis, was playing alongside 4 new starters. Two of our starters were injured and are supposedly coming back for this year. And even if they don't, which I know Nalen will, the other guys now have a year under their belt.
And at Safety, if we have Abdullah and Lynch in on 1st and 2nd down, and bring in Curome Cox and/or Foxworth to play the big nickel, then we can push off our needs at Safety for another year perhaps. Anyway, my point is this...Denver does have a list of need positions. And it may be as extensive as 6 or 7 different positions that we need help at. But there isn't a team in the league that doesn't have a few need positions, not Indy, not New England, not San Diego... IF Denver had to fill every one of their need positions in order to be competitive, then you might have a point. But they don't have to be perfect, a team without any needs...they need to fill a few needs this year, a few needs next year...and so on.
March 1, 2008
5:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
Dynamicdave writes:
Hey millertime, glad to bump into you again. My comment is for RickyLee. You talk about being betrayed? How can you feel betrayed? You have to be a Bronco fan to feel betrayed. You talk about how you root for any team that plays the "donkeys", as you put it. A real Bronco fan roots for his team, through thick and thin. You are merely a band wagon, glass half empty, fan. Kind of like the role that Randy Quaid played, in the movie, Major League. Whining all the time. Go back to Oakland with the rest of your pals and quit your crying.
March 2, 2008
8:24 a.m.
Suggest removal
shesgotthejack writes:
Maybe trade Shanahan for Holmgren? No. . .they both suck as coaches. Denver will be an 8-8 team next year. . .GUARANTEED!! Let's face it Shanahan has made some bad personel decisions and looking for a new coach wouldn't be such a terrible thing!! Walker and Gold, they will both find other teams and be successful.
March 2, 2008
8:35 a.m.
Suggest removal
terryr55 writes:
In a mock draft they have the Broncos taking a left tackle from Boise State, which might not be a bad choice because by what I see on video, he looks like a stud! Move Harris to right tackle. Not sure about the competition he played against, though. But he looks like a quick, solid 320 pounder. If they don't protect Cutler they don't win, either!
On defense, in my opinion they need a big, nasty middle linebacker...someone who the other team always has to know where he's at. I actually think the d-linemen they have now would be adequate if they had a field general like that. They're out there, they've just got to open their wallets and get out of the "Sam Adams/Shaun Rogers are the answer" mentality...I'd take athletic linemen over their likes any day!!!