Tampa was smart not to overpay for Woodson

By Connor Byrne  |   Thursday, April 27, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers and former Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson agreed to a whopping seven-year, $52.7 million deal, including at least $10.5 million in guarantees. The Packers beat out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who wisely chose not to grossly overpay for the overrated 29-year-old.

The dealbreaker in this case was the fact that the Packers are granting Woodson's long-time wish to play offense as well as defense, but the Buccaneers declined Woodson's request. Undoubtedly, that was another wise move for Tampa, since having Woodson on the field too much could lead to injury. Everyone knows he's incredibly injury-prone as is, having missed 22 games over the last four seasons.

Why Tampa was going after Woodson in the first place was somewhat of a mystery. Unlike Green Bay, they were pursuing the Michigan product to play free safety. However, they already have up-and-coming 23-year-old Will Allen, who picked off three passes in 13 games last season. Coincidentally, that is seven more games than Woodson even played in last year. It's understandable that they wanted to increase productivity from the position, but mortgaging the franchise's future salary cap situation would have been unwise. Green Bay is so busy trying to appease quarterback Brett Favre that they'd probably have grossly overpaid for even the most mediocre of defensive backs.

The fact that Woodson is among the most overrated players in the NFL is something that gets lost on people as well. Many always seem to picture the Woodson who won the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship in 1997 for Michigan, and then intercepted five passes in his rookie season with the Raiders. However, they, as well as so many other teams in the league are overlooking the fact that Woodson has picked off just 12 passes in 90 games since, which he's done in parts of the last seven seasons. Therefore, Woodson hasn't even averaged two interceptions per year since his terrific rookie campaign. Does that sound like a $52 million cornerback to you? Probably not.

Thus, had the Bucs elected to overpay for Woodson, they'd have been unhappy soon after the 2006 season began. He's little more than a decent cornerback living off a great college career and rookie season who happens to be represented by one of the greediest agents in football, Kevin Poston. Ultimately, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have dealt with too much heartache from Woodson and Poston, and not nearly enough bang for their buck. Now he wants to play offense? Good luck, Green Bay. Deion Sanders he's not.

--Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com
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