John Lynch wasn’t in the Broncos’ plans, so Mike Shanahan did what he always does in those types of situations. He released Lynch so he could hook on with another team.
Happens all the time in the NFL. A team decides to go in a different direction, so it releases a veteran so he can find a job somewhere else in the league. In Lynch’s case, it wound up being with the Patriots.
Teams do it out respect, out of appreciation for the veteran’s contributions through the years. It isn’t just the Broncos. It happened the other day with the Jets, too. They released their long-time starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, when he no longer was in their plans, allowing him to sign with another team.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? As in, why wasn’t the quarterback who took Pennington’s job shown the same respect? A guy named Brett Favre, on the off chance you’ve forgotten. He wasn’t in the Packers’ plans, but they refused to release him.
Why? Because they knew he would sign with a team in their division, in this case the Vikings. But Pennington signed with another team in the Jets’ division and no one seemed to mind a bit.
The bottom line? Sure, Favre is a better player than Pennington. His presence in Minnesota could have tilted the balance of power in the NFC North. But Favre did a lot more for the Packers than Pennington ever dreamed of doing for the Jets.
Truth is, he did more for the Packers during his time in Green Bay than any other player did for any other team. Add it all up and you’re left with one conclusion: The Packers didn’t do right by Favre.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
