Ryan Grant has every right to be insulted by the Packers most recent offer, and since it looks like the team is quite comfortable moving forward with Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback, I'm guessing the front office would love to have Grant in camp, well, now, to help ease Rodgers' transition to the full-time gig. Or, maybe, the club is perfectly happy with the offer currently on the table because Brandon Jackson has been such a pleasant surprise.
Throughout the offseason, McCarthy repeatedly mentioned the name of the second-year running back from Nebraska when asked which players might enjoy a breakout season in 2008. That kind of praise for Jackson, a second-round pick in 2007, has continued early in training camp.Hear that, Ryan? Thing is, I'm sure Grant and his peeps are well aware of the situation, but it's also worth remembering that you can never have enough depth at running back. That's not to say the Packers should pay Grant whatever he wants, but it doesn't make much sense to head into the season with no depth at the position.
"I think he looks like a different player from this time last year, and I think you could say that for a lot of rookies," McCarthy said. "... I think he's definitely going to be a factor as we move forward as a core player there. He's had a great offseason."
I'm of the opinion that running backs are pretty easily replaced, but Grant's not asking for LdT money; he'd just like to make a little more than minimum wage, which, given his 2007 season, isn't a completely outrageous notion.
I suspect the Packers will oblige and Grant will return to work in short order. And if Jackson continues to impress, it could be sooner than expected.
