Boy, did the Green Bay Packers and Old Man Ted shit the bed on this one. We’ll let Casey Hayward walk in free agency. We’re going with Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins!
Good move, Big Ted.
Hayward signed a modest — by NFL standards — three-year, $15 million deal with the Chargers. They played him on the outside. He’s become one of, if not the best, cornerback in the league. Now he’s getting paid like it.
The #Chargers are signing standout CB Casey Hayward to a 3-year extension, source said, worth $36M. He gets $20M fully guaranteed at signing. 💰💰 … LA taking care of its own well-deserved former free agent signing.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2018
In his two years since leaving the Packers, who didn’t even bother to make an offer to him, Hayward has made two Pro Bowls. He’s been named second-team All-Pro each season. He led the league in picks in 2016, with seven. He had four in 2017.
The guy has been a straight-up killer. Meanwhile, the Packers’ secondary has been dogshit in those two years. They have been looking for a cornerback that can do what Hayward can do since.
And let’s be honest. We were wrong on the guy. We didn’t think he could play outside. He didn’t seem to handle that role well when the Packers gave it to him in 2015. Could it have been coaching? They eventually moved Hayward back to the slot, where he excelled early in his career. But we’re not professional talent evaluators. Ted Thompson and his minions are. They shit the bed on Casey Hayward.
Shit. The. Bed.
That boy can play. And congrats to him for getting paid as such. He deserves it.
So while Brian Gutekunst is left scrambling around for free agent scraps, remember that Ted Thompson could have just kept Casey Hayward.
Who would’ve thought that basketball players don’t make the best cornerbacks? All that cross training is supposed to give them a better perspective on the position, resulting in an advantage over the rest of the league!
Ted loved his projects and conversions.