Packers trade Williams

The Green Bay Packers have received a second round draft pick in the 2008 draft from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for defensive tackle Corey Williams.

"Before the Packers could trade Williams," reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "they had to sign him to a contract because NFL rules prohibit teams from trading franchise and transition players who have not signed their one-year qualifying offers. Williams had a lot of leverage because the deal couldn't be completed until he agreed to sign a contract.

"The Packers gave the Browns permission to negotiate with Williams so a long-term deal could be reached. The sides were able to hammer out a deal that was agreed upon Thursday night but still needs to be finalized."

As with any trade, there is usally both a positive and a negative. The good news is that the Packers received a second round draft (No. 56 overall), and that gives the Packers three draft choices in the first 60 picks of the draft.

Also a positive is that the trade freed up over $6 million in salary cap space for the Packers. They Packers now have around $24 million in cap space giving them more ammunition to bring in some free agents.

The negative is that the Packers lost one of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL. The New York Giants proved just how valuable a pass rush can be towards winning a Super Bowl, and that will be hard to replace for the Packers.

Johnny Jolly, Justin Harrell, Colin Cole and Daniel Muir will all do their best to help fill that void created by the departed Williams, but none has shown to be an effective pass rusher as of yet.