Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Walker softens his stance on leaving Broncos

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 8, 2008 at 3:18 p.m.
Updated January 8, 2008 at 3:18 p.m.

Text size  

More Denver Broncos

More stories »

Javon Walker’s season-ending comments last week about not being a good fit in Denver and possibly playing elsewhere next season was viewed by many as a red flag.

The Broncos receiver in hindsight looks at it more as the yellow variety.

“It was frustration coming out,” Walker said during a radio interview Tuesday. “It’s like playing on the football field and getting a 15-yard personal foul. That’s a guy who at the time was frustrated. His coach may not like it. But saying something in the media at the time, boom, it’s a personal foul. I apologize. I’m sorry. Let’s move on.”

Walker went on the Lewis and Floorwax Show on KRFX (103.5 FM) to try and clear the air for 20 minutes.

He reiterated that he never asked for a trade or promised a holdout; called his current situation completely different than a previous spat with the Green Bay Packers; and denied his ego, and potentially having to defer some to teammate Brandon Marshall in the future, is the root cause for his frustration.

Instead, he offered that the fallout from a knee injury that forced him out of the lineup for much of the season and limited him upon his return bubbled to the surface.

And he noted that he actually switched assignments in the season-finale so that Marshall could get 100 catches for the season, proving that he can be a team player.

“But when it boils down to it, I’m really unsure what’s going to happen to me in Denver because the ball’s in their court, and even they’ve said, I have a big salary-cap number coming up. I have bonuses coming up. So it really boils down to what they want to do with me,” Walker said. “If I’m a Bronco, hey, that’s fine; if not, hey, that’s OK, too.”

Walker’s situation is a sticky one. The club’s top receiver in 2006, his cap number is slated to be $7.05 million. But two bonuses totaling $5.4 million are soon due, with one of them including a ‘poison-pill’ type provision that forces the team to pay him a substantial figure anyway even if it doesn’t pick it up. Cutting or trading Walker would accelerate monies already paid forward, creating dead money on the cap while still having to fill the roster void with a starting-caliber talent.

A renegotiation looks to be the best route for both sides, but Walker previously has shunned that possibility, saying other top players weren’t asked to take paycuts because of injuries.

He backed off some on that point Tuesday.

“The paying part, to tell you the truth, is not a big factor. I just want to go out and play and catch balls,” he said. “I’m not going to de-value what I’m worth. But I just want to play . . . go out and have fun. And maybe one day, I’ll have the opportunity to catch 100 balls.”

But that goes back to the ‘fit’ of which Walker previously talked about himself within Denver’s offense.

He again, twice, put his performance in a context of, “if I’m used properly.”

And with Marshall’s emergence and a strong commitment to the running game by the Broncos, it’s still an open question whether Walker can be satisfied within that framework. But Walker maintained that the charge that he refuses to accept playing second-fiddle to anyone “simply isn’t true.”

“The thing about it is if I’m in an offense with somebody on the other side who makes me better, I just want my fair opportunity, too,” he said. “As long as I can get a fair opportunity, I’ll make the best of it.”

That type of attitude would help Walker in the long run, given that he’s currently being viewed as a trouble-maker in some circles, especially in light of his previous Green Bay experience. With the Packers, he was dissatisfied with his contract, returned to action, tore his knee up early in the 2005 season, then promised not to play again for the Packers, prompting the Broncos deal.

“This is far from a Green Bay situation,” Walker said.

Even so, the receiver has heard himself referred to as a locker-room cancer recently during one talk-radio discussion, which set him off.

“What have I done to be a cancer?” he shot back. “What do they know about what I’ve done in the locker room to become a cancer? That frustrated me a lot.”

Walker maintained his only downfall is that he got hurt, which led to season-long disappointment and his ill-timed locker-room vent, highlighted by his comment on the Broncos that “it’s not for me” and that people would see him “somewhere along down the road in another situation.”

And now? “I’m just trying to get healthy,” he said. “That’s the big part.”

Comments

  • January 8, 2008

    4 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Brain writes:

    Hopefully the Broncos will have him healthy, motivated and playing on the other side of Marshall and live with his price

  • January 8, 2008

    4:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    R8R_H8R writes:

    J-Walker is injury prone. He can not be counted on for a full season of productivity. Which is unfortunate because, when healthy, he is a top knotch receiver. However, his salary MUST BE REDUCED. You cant pay a guy that much money that cant play more than half the games in a season. Make it incentive laden. If he plays and performs, he deserves the 7 million. But make the base salary far lower in case he's injured again.

  • January 8, 2008

    5:16 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    LarryB writes:

    Well, Javon is right about the locker room thing. What does a radio talk show host know about what goes on inside the locker room?

  • January 8, 2008

    7:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    rowdymoudy writes:

    Javon is correct about how he was used after he came back from the injury. Perhaps it was the play caling, or maybe it was Cutler, but it seemed like every third play was a toss to Marshall.

  • January 8, 2008

    7:54 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    I_am_not_fooled writes:

    It sounds like Javon had time to cool down...and may have been told to tone down the rhetoric by his agent. If Javon can find a way to remain with Denver, the Broncos will have one the most prolific offenses in the NFL next year. If Walker leaves, he will miss an opportunity of a lifetime. How would a defense cover Marshall, Walker, Stokley and Scheffler mixed in with a little running from Selvin Young? Be careful mister Walker... an opportunity like this doesn't come around very often. Your next team might pay the money, but it's not as much fun being a one man show and then watching the playoffs from your living room.

  • January 8, 2008

    8:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    queenjacyln writes:

    I'm glad Walker got to clear up some of his comments from last week's rant. I do think down deep he is a good guy who is frustrated but he needs to learn how to approach it properly from now on.

    Walker is under contract so the Broncos can't just make up a new one whenever they feel like it. An incentive laden deal is a good idea but its not going to happen because Walker is already under an agreement. The Broncos will ask him to restructure his deal so they can go after free agents, they have asked veterans to do this every single year. Its not about wanting to pay Walker less because of the injury, its the way the Broncos do business. Elway restructured his deal all the time. I'm sure others have done it in the past as well, this isn't anything new or to disrespect Walker.

    I think Walker will be back for the Broncos because its like $7 mil if the keep him and $5 mil and an empty roster spot if they cut him. Hopefully something will happen with the restructuring but if not I still think he will be here. There is no point in cutting someone and leaving all that dead money if the player can still contribute.

    When Walker came back from injury he didn't look like the same guy out there. I saw him struggle to beat coverage and couldn't catch the ball. Maybe he got targeted less often but he didn't make the most of it when he was targeted. I do see him being able to rebound from the injury and contribute in 2008.

    The cancer comment was a harsh thing to say but when a team completely underachieves like the Broncos did, and some of the comments Rod Smith said about things not being done the right way, one has to assume there is some division in the locker room. I have no idea how Walker is perceived by his teammates so I can't make any assumptions. But once Walker had his rant last week people wanted to point the finger.

    The only thing I don't like is about the comments that the offense doesn't suit him and how maybe its just primarily a running team. Well if thats true then why did Marshall have 100 catches? Or why did Walker go over 100 yards in the first 2 games last season? Or why did he catch 69 balls and go over 1000 yards last season? That doesn't sound like an offense that can't feature wide receivers. WRs that are healthy and can get open will get their opportunities.

  • January 8, 2008

    8:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    den2mke writes:

    Dear Javon,

    First of all, congratulations on making amends publicly for comments made out of frustration. While you're rarely at a loss for words, you probably don't receive enough credit for items like firing Drew Rosenhaus to aid negotiations in GB, reporting to camp in good faith (only to be cast off by GB mgmt after season-ending injury) and, as reported here, aiding in Marshall's 100 catches (though 'secondary role' might be a stretch).

    Now on to business...Do you realize the opportunity you have here? Many an NFL dynasty has been built on solid WR tandems--see Swann-Stallworth, Rice-Turner, Irvin-Harper, and more recently, Harrison-Wayne--but none in history has the potential speed, size and play-making ability as Marshall-Walker (or Walker-Marshall, if you choose). No one will know or care who was number-one if there's a bunch of rings to count.

    Complemented by a QB with all the right skills, a solid TE tandem, a running game that is bound to get back on track and one of the greatest offensive minds ever to don a headset the potential this offensive unit has is downright scary.

    Championships won't likely come overnight, as fixing needs to be done on the other side of the ball, but even an average defense can look pretty exceptional when playing from ahead (see '05 Broncos D).

    So, do yourself and the fans of Denver a couple of favors: 1. Get healthy, you have a long career yet ahead of you; 2. Negotiate a contract that's fair for you and the team; and 3. Let the rest happen.

    Here's hoping you do...

    One fan's opinion...

  • January 8, 2008

    10:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    csloan999 writes:

    Marshall + Walker would give us a ridiculous passing game, and in turn open up the run. Man up, Javon, the Broncos need you!

  • January 9, 2008

    7:31 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    I_am_not_fooled writes:

    Dan2,
    Why would anyone expend so much energy on another team's news site. There must be a lot of pent up hatred....I can only feel pity for such a pathetic individual.

  • January 9, 2008

    8:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Originalk911 writes:

    I think only Reason Walker backed down from all his Negative comments, He will not get paid all that money on any other Team. His Agent probably advised him to shut up, I Don t think he will never be 100%. Denver should Trade or cut him him cause the injury will be there for years to come. Denver is trying to be a yound New team, we really don t need him in the locker Room, we need leadership type of player. One bad apple can make all the others go bad. Good bye Walker, take your bag and go to the Raiders or Atlanta. Good luck