Like Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun, Ryan Grant had a breakthrough season last year. And now, the Packers starting running back is angling for a new contract, and he may actually cost himself money in the long run -- like Braun might have with his contract with the Brewers -- by signing a deal soon and passing on someday being a free agent.
Grant, who ran for 956 regular-season yards in only seven starts last season and set a franchise record with his 201-yard playoff performance against Seattle, isn't participating in any of the football drills during the Packers' organized team activity practices because he refuses to sign his one-year, $370,000 exclusive-rights free-agent tender.
Instead, Grant wants a long-term deal with guaranteed up-front money. When asked if he expects to have a long-term deal in place in time for training camp, Grant replied, "Yeah, I do. I don't have a timetable. There's no timetable in that sense. I don't have control over that. I'm just trying to do my part and make sure I'm taking part in everything I can.
"I just felt like it was in my best situation to handle this way. I think both sides feel like I'm going about it in the correct way. It's not a matter of unhappiness. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. Not at all. It's just the business."
Grant has next to no bargaining power because the Packers hold his exclusive rights and he cannot negotiate with any other team. And if he signs a long-term deal before camp, he could be costing himself a bigger payday he might've received with a similarly productive season in 2008 as the starter from opening day.
Grant joined the team last year following a Sept. 1 trade with the New York Giants and didn't take over the starting job until DeShawn Wynn went down with a shoulder injury Oct. 29 at San Francisco.
Still, because Grant is doing everything but actually practicing -- he spent Wednesday's practice doing conditioning work with the injured players while the rest of the team did normal football drills -- Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Grant has handled the situation ``very well.''
"He has been here every day through the whole offseason. He has been lifting (weights) here four days a week. He's up on the third floor all of the time with (running backs coach) Edgar Bennett. So he is getting himself ready," McCarthy said. "Would I like him out there with everybody else? Absolutely, but he's not under contract right now, so it's clearly a business decision."
During OTAs, Colledge and Barbre are alternating days with the No. 1 offensive line. Colledge worked with the 1s during Tuesday's first practice, while Barbre was with the 1s Wednesday, when reporters were allowed to watch for the first time.
"I'm going to go out and do the same thing I do every single year -- I'm going to work my butt off, try to get better, compete for a starting spot," said Colledge, whose starting job has been threatened several times the past two seasons. "I would have liked to have been entrenched as the starter by Year 3, but Year 3 is just starting. We're only in OTAs right now. We're both going to compete to start."
Harrell "back" on the sideline: Defensive tackle Justin Harrell, the team's 2007 first-round pick who missed all the offseason work last year while recovering from a ruptured biceps suffered his senior year at Tennessee, won't participate in any of the OTAs because of a disk injury in his back suffered while lifting weights. Harrell, who contributed little as a rookie, had what McCarthy termed "minor" surgery in April.
"It's certainly not the ideal situation to be in with him," defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn said. "It's very frustrating. He needs the rhythm of working the drills and the technique stuff and the moment he can get released, we'll start on it. We've just got to be patient and (have him) do everything he can do."
Harrell isn't the only interior lineman sitting out. Johnny Jolly (shoulder), Daniel Muir (pectoral muscle) and Colin Cole (forearm) are also sidelined. Six other players also sat out with injuries: cornerback Will Blackmon (foot); linebacker Abdul Hodge (knees); fullback John Kuhn (groin); offensive lineman Cameron Stephenson (calf); tight end Tory Humphrey (ankle) and defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee).
This 'n' That: Veteran cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris were the only two players not in attendance Wednesday, aside from rookie free-agents Brennen Carvalho and Condrew Allen from Portland State, which is still in school. McCarthy said Harris and Woodson's absence isn't a concern, given the stage of their careers they're in. ... Incumbent linebacker Brady Poppinga doesn't seem fazed by the arrival of Brandon Chillar, the team's only free-agent signing and the presumptive new starter on the strong side. ``There's two sides to competition, and depending on how you handle it it'll either build you or it can tear you down,'' said Poppinga, who was with the No. 1 defense Wednesday. "Him being here, I think it's going to build us up as a linebacking corps.''... OnMilwaukee.com has a new fan: Tight ends coach Ben McAdoo made a point of sharing how much he enjoyed the recent blog post about locker-room nudity.
Jason Wilde, a Milwaukee native who graduated from Greendale Martin Luther High School and the University of Wisconsin, is a two-time Associated Press Sports Editors award winner and a Wisconsin Newspaper Association award winner.
His daily coverage can be found on the State Journal's Web site and through his Packers blog on madison.com.
