They couldn’t. When they took him off the PUP list they were required to activate him or release him by NFL rules after 3 weeks. The CBA specifically forbids punitive moves like that. If they could have I suspect that would have to prevent him from going to a NFC rival.
Incidentally, to correct RNATB, the CBA has not expired. It expires in March of 2011. The salary cap expired in Mach 2010, but the CBA did not. The previous CBA was designed to have the cap disappear a year earlier to help motivate both sides to negotiate and avoid a strike.
I thought the NFL rules included putting him on the IR. It would be catastrophically stupid rule if they couldn’t move a guy from PUP to the IR if they wanted to keep him longer than this year.
“Because the three players’ practice clocks started on Tuesday, Oct. 19, the Packers have until Monday to do one of three things with each of them: Activate, release, or place on season-ending injured reserve.”
"“When they pull the trigger, they pull the trigger, and I’ll be ready,” Harris said. “Whatever decision they make, I’m with it.”
As for his long-term future, Harris, who will turn 36 on Dec. 7, said he still believes he can play until age 40, his stated goal for the last several years. He has gone out of his way throughout his comeback to thank the Packers, including McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson, for sticking with him and allowing him to do the first half of his rehabilitation at home in Florida. Harris also said that the team could have “easily” cut him loose after the injury because of its severity and his age.
“Easily that could have happened. Look at the guys around this league that were in this locker room that are now playing on different teams. That could’ve easily been the case,” Harris said. “But they were stand-up guys. (They said), ‘Hey, get better, we appreciate you.’ You can only respect that.”
My understanding was that they had to make a choice between moving him from the PUP to IR or the active roster after 6 weeks. Once they moved him to the active roster they had 3 weeks to add them to the 53 man or release them. I thought their opportunity to move them to IR ended once they cleared the PUP. Of course I could be wrong on that one and based on your cite I am.
However I’ve found dozens of cites that indicate that the Chargers were obligated to release Shawne Merriman 3 weeks after he came off the PUP list and IR wasn’t an option. I have no idea what the distinction between the two cases may be.
According to this article, Merriman was already on IR. When the Chargers put him on IR, they gave him the “minor-injury designation” which means if he gets healthy, they had to release him. So he actually was on IR already and they couldn’t put him back on it when he got healthy.
BTW, I am kind of pissed at the Cowboys for putting up so little resistance that as a Packer fan, that the achivement of drubbing the Cowboys seems pretty worthless. We don’t get to go around shouting, “Suck it Cowboys” because then it looks like we are rubbing it in the developmentally challenged kids face.
heh, that would sting a lot more if Coughlin didn’t just bring home a Lombardi trophy a couple years ago. One day you Vikings fans may get a taste of that, but it certainly won’t be under Childress.
For a fleeting moment, Wade Phillips’s tired, grandfatherly visage took some of the joy out of the bloodletting. Then I remembered that game in 1996 when Dallas called a timeout with seconds left in the game to kick a meaningless, stat-padding field goal. Punching the Cowboys in the mouth will never cease to brighten my world.
Besides, their owner is a tool no matter how many games they lose.
That actually is one of his strong points. He’s done well in the draft (Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin) and in free agency (most notably Jared Allen). He really has been good at putting product on the field. He just hasn’t been very inspirational in the locker room, nor has he been exactly scintillating at the X’s and O’s. He’d probably be a good General Manager, but I think his days are numbered as a Head Coach.
ETA, I also giving him credit for bringing some stability to the team after the Love Boat fiasco. They really haven’t had a lot of embarrassing off-field problems since he’s been there. Like I said, General Manager material.
Stafford got hurt again. that leaves Stanton who got injured frequently in college and the pros. Sean Hill our backup is already out for the season. There is no one on the taxi squad that plays QB. This could get ugly. Perhaps Suh could play QB, defense and kick extra points too.