The Green Bay Packers have been linked to several rumors this offseason, none bigger than one involving Raiders’ wide receiver Randy Moss. The latest rumor has the Packers acquiring Chargers’ running back Michael Turner for a first round pick. According to the Trenton Times, the Packers would send their first round pick (16th overall) to the Chargers for Turner and their first rounder (30th overall).
The Packers need to do something because unless a productive back is released after the draft (which could happen), their backfield is looking ultra light. Vernand Morency is the current starter, but GB is going to need a more proven back before the ’07 season kicks off. In my opinion, a Morency-Turner combo would be more explosive than a Morency-(Corey) Dillon or Morency-(Chris) Brown (two backs still on the free agent market) backfield. Turner doesn’t have a ton of ware on his tires and would benefit from sharing the load with Morency. Then Green Bay could spend the 30th overall pick on other needs (WR, S, LB).
As for San Diego – much like Atlanta’s situation with Matt Schaub – it’s time to see how much Turner is worth. He’s a free agent after this season, so unless the Chargers want to franchise him (unlikely with LT in their backfield) they would be wise to get max value now. That way they could look for another backup for Tomlinson in the draft.
Update: According to the NFL Network, Turner will meet with the Tennessee Titans on Monday.
