Don’t send Walker on a walk!

Javon Walker made a few comments at the end of the season that escalated from one media pundit to another and the rumor that the Broncos will cut Walker continue to circulate. Generally, these rumors are reported with very little actual substance, leading the reader to wonder if the journalist involved has any real information, or is doing the unfortunately typical journalist repeats whatever some other journalist said assuming that some other journalist was accurate. This is, unfortunately, how opinions and guess work appear to turn into fact in the media — and not just the sports media but the national media as well — and that fact becomes the consensus reality until the subject does something totally unexpected.

Let’s look at what we do know.

• Javon Walker talks about Javon Walker in the third person when Javon Walker is frustrated or upset and doesn’t know what to say to reporters in the locker room on the anniversary of D-Will’s death.
• Javon Walker had a bad season last year, due to knee problems.
• We have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen with that knee this year. This is something that team doctors certainly know a lot more about than the media is telling us. They usually do have a pretty good idea where injuries like these are going to go.
• Walker is going to be $7m toward the salary cap if he stays, or $8m toward the salary cap if he goes. Cutting Walker costs the team salary cap. It doesn’t help.
• Walker is going to make a wad of cash if we cut him or if we don’t.
• Trading Walker is pretty much the same as cutting him.
• We don’t have anyone to effectively replace Walker.
• Walker has one bad interview and the Diva tag comes out. He even apologized in public, but the Diva tag hasn’t gone away.
• Walker has only had a year to deal with a friend and teammate dying in his lap.
• There doesn’t appear to be a lot of interest in a trade for Walker.
• There isn’t a lot of buzz about Walker being traded.

That’s a list of things I know. When I boil that list down, we have a first class wide receiver who has a chip on his shoulder and maybe needs some more time. He said a couple of stupid things. But Marshall’s said a couple of dumb things as well. Heck most players eventually say something dumb, the media’s really good at picking that stuff up and reporting on it because at any given time, some journalist needs a story, and then other journalists start repeating it. He may or may not play well next year.

But I don’t see that we gain squat by cutting him unless he actually can’t play.

I don’t see that the team has anything to gain by cutting Walker, and it has everything to gain by giving him another shot. Marshall is the #1 wideout, but I remember Rod, Eddie and Terrell all on the same team, and I seem to recall they put up some pretty awesome numbers together. There’s clearly room for two stellar receivers. And a good running game.

So the Broncos should cut Walker because he got cornered and put out a bad interview?

They’d better have better reasons than that if they cut him. Please, let’s not make the mistake we did with Warren.

If we cut Walker, we will miss him. Please, Shanahan, Sundquist. Don’t do it. Walker will play another season. Give him a chance and give him the ball.