GLENN "RETIREMENT" A FREENEY CONTRACT PROTEST?
Mike Chappell and Phillip Wilson of the Indianapolis Star report that Colts left tackle Tarik Glenn plans to retire.
No one from the Colts would confirm the news, and the Star was unable to reach Glenn. His agent, Ralph Cindrich, said that any response on the matter would have to come from Glenn.
The Colts sent Glenn a strong message that he might not be part of the future when selecting Tony Ugoh in the 2007 draft, giving up their 2008 first-rounder in order to get in position to take him.
If Glenn plays this year, he'll be eligible to become a free agent in 2008, and he could be in position for a significant pay day. So why would he walk away now?
It could be that he's playing the retirement card as a way to force the Colts to sign him to an extension, and that he really doesn't intend to follow through with it. Or maybe he thinks that he can "retire" for the 2007 season and unretire come March. Why put $20 million or more in guaranteed money at risk in order to earn a $4.5 million salary for one more season in Indy? If he gets seriously injured this year, that big new contract will never come.
Then again, the Colts would still hold his rights, if he were to come out of retirement. Maybe, under that circumstance, they would accept a reasonable trade offer. Then again, if Glenn pisses off G.M. Bill Polian, "reasonable" might get thrown up against the wall in a tunnel at Giants Stadium.
If Glenn is in fact using retirement to squeeze the Colts, we think that the $72 million contract given eight days ago by the Colts to defensive end Dwight Freeney had a lot to do with it. Glenn sees Freeney up close all the time, and Glenn is in a good position to assess his own worth in comparison to Freeney, a quarterback-sacking specialist who had only 5.5 sacks in 2006, three of which came against a rookie who was filling in for the Bengals.
Since Glenn is the guy protecting the blind side of a star quarterback with all the mobility of a car with square wheels, it's reasonable to assume that Glenn perceives the Freeney deal to be a slap in the face and/or a kick to the nuts. Or both.
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Cowher was driving very conservatively, and it was easy to predict how he was planning on getting to the stadium.
It seemed as if he was driving not to crash and relying on his tires to pound their way down the asphalt about 3 yards at a time.
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