Green Bay, Wis. ? The Green Bay Packers want “Big Daddy” to replace the “Gravedigger.”
The Packers are trying to lure Dan Wilkinson to Green Bay after losing run-stuffer Gilbert Brown to a season-ending and career-threatening arm injury.
Wilkinson, released July 29 by the Washington Redskins after he refused to take a cut in his team-high $3.5 million salary, was scheduled to arrive in Green Bay late Monday for a two-day visit. He’s also being pursued by New England and Detroit and the Redskins would like him back, too.
His Washington, D.C.-based agent, Brig Owens, was traveling Monday and didn’t immediately return a phone message
A career underachiever after being the top pick in the 1994 draft, Wilkinson, who played four years in Cincinnati and the last five in Washington, can play both defensive tackle positions, but the Packers would want him solely as a nose tackle.
“He’s a big, strong, physical guy who can take up two blockers,” said Mark Hatley, the Packers’ vice president of football operations. “He’s a load.”
The Packers desperately need a massive man in the middle such as the 6-foot-4, 345-pound “Big Daddy” to protect rookie Nick Barnett, their undersized middle linebacker, and to shore up the league’s second-worst run defense.
Green Bay was thin at nose tackle even before former Kansas University lineman Brown tore his right biceps muscle Saturday at Atlanta. Rod Walker, Terdell Sands and James Lee are out with injuries, and Steve Warren was activated last week after an offseason back operation.
“We have girth, we have athletes, we have all that,” coach Mike Sherman said. “We just don’t have them on the field.”
Warren and journeyman Steve Martin replaced Brown in Green Bay’s 27-21 victory over the Falcons in which the Packers also lost safety Bryant Westbrook to a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon.
Westbrook, who tore his left Achilles’ tendon in 2000, had made a successful switch from cornerback to safety this summer.
Just two weeks ago, Brown turned down a more lucrative offer from the Redskins to sign a four-year, $3.35 million contract with the Packers that included a $400,000 signing bonus.
The Packers gambled on the 32-year-old popular player because of their dire need at the position despite his history of injury and weight problems. He had missed nine games over the last two seasons.
Brown, who will count $775,000 against the salary cap when he’s placed on injured reserve, joined the Packers off waivers from Minnesota 10 years ago and became a fan favorite with his gravedigger move following big plays and for spurning better financial offers to stay in Green Bay.
“Right now, my heart goes out to him,” defensive line coach Jethro Franklin commented.
“That is a tough blow, a guy who has been an icon, a mainstay here, to go through something like that.”
“We’re going to get it together. It’s a temporary setback for us,” Franklin said.
“Mike Sherman and (pro player personnel director) Reggie McKenzie and Mark Hatley, they’re going to make sure we have a championship team out here.”
Brown’s personality will be missed.
“I don’t think there’s any question that he’s one of the most popular members of this team,” offensive line coach Larry Beightol said, referring to Brown. “He is just a very, very engaging guy.”
