Ryan Grant's holdout in Green Bay is particularly weird because it comes when Devin Hester of the Bears received a four-year extension that could be worth as much as $40 million.
The Bears paid Hester for his accomplishments on the field and his potential. Grant, whose running in the second half of last season helped the Packers reach the NFC Championship Game, was offered a six-year contract that pretty much asks him to prove himself again. According to his agent, Alan Herman, the Packers are only willing to give Grant a $1.75 million signing bonus and a $370,000 base salary on a six-year deal.
Grant, 25, is willing to work out a creative contract that includes incentives, but Herman thinks it's ridiculous to sign for less than half of what linebacker Brady Poppinga received last week in a contract extension. In other words, Brett Favre isn't the only Packer who isn't happy.
Numbers crunching: The Hester contract is fascinating. There are two $10 million bonuses in the final two years of the deal that could de-escalate if Hester doesn't put up big numbers as a returner or as a receiver. The Bears gave Hester $15 million in guarantees to reward him for past services and lock him up for a total of six years. Hester had two years left on his old contract.
What Hester's agent, Eugene Parker, and Bears negotiator Cliff Stein did was come up with a creative way to handle Hester if he's a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 receiver. If he's a No. 1 receiver, he could make $10 million a year. If he's a No. 2, he could make $7.5 million. If he's a No. 3, he could make $5 million. The Bears want to make him a No. 1 receiver.
Proving ground: Coach Rod Marinelli believes in making new Lions prove themselves. Still, it's strange to see new Lions cornerback Leigh Bodden start camp as a backup after receiving a four-year, $27 million contract extension. Bodden is behind Travis Fisher and Brian Kelly.
Boiling over: The best fights out of any camp came in Detroit. Defensive end Dewayne White had two fights with left tackle Jeff Backus within a short period of time. White thought Backus was hanging onto his jersey too long. The first fight was brief. No. 2 was a dandy. White swung at Backus' face, and both went down to the ground.
Then there were three: So much for all the worry about rookie contract holdouts. Now that all the teams are in camp, the only unsigned first-rounders are Sedrick Ellis of the Saints, Derrick Harvey of the Jaguars and Keith Rivers of the Bengals.
Dubious distinction: The first draft choice to officially get cut was Bucs running back Cory Boyd. He was waived on Saturday.
John Clayton
