The Newark Star-Ledger reports that Braylon Edwards wasn’t the person who threw the punch at Cleveland nightclub promoter Edward Givens in an incident that occurred early Monday morning.

Edwards appeared to reach a breaking point under the first-year Browns coach Eric Mangini. He has been fined several times by Mangini and is one of several players to have filed a grievance with the league over the fines handed down to players, according to someone with knowledge of the situation but who is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

Also, there’s speculation that Edwards is the player who was fined $1,701 for drinking a bottle of water in his hotel room without paying for it.

As for the incident on Sunday, a member of Edwards’ entourage — not him — threw the punch, according to someone with knowledge of the situation but who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the incident.

Okay, so who’s lying then? Givens said it was Edwards that specifically punched him. So unless it was a scrum and multiple punches were being thrown (which doesn’t sound like it was the case), then it would have been easy for Givens to single out Edwards as the puncher.

That means either someone is covering up for Edwards or Givens is lying for whatever reason. (Maybe to make Edwards look bad since he’s a friend of LeBron?)

Where are the Hardy Boys? We need a mystery solved…

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the NFL is investigating the actions of Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, who allegedly punched an entertainment promoter early Monday morning outside a nightclub.

First-offenders of the policy generally do not receive discipline until the legal process plays out. But Goodell has been strict in dealing with repeat offenders.

The question is whether Edwards is considered a repeat offender.

Last November, he was found guilty of driving 120 mph on Interstate 90 and was fined $150 and sentenced to 30 hours community service.

Goodell also is aware that Edwards was drinking with teammate Donte Stallworth the night of Stallworth’s tragic car accident in Miami Beach, which resulted in the death of pedestrian Mario Reyes. Edwards was not charged with anything. Goodell came down hard on Stallworth and suspended him for one year.

If Edwards were suspended, the Browns would have the opportunity to take a closer look at some of their young wideouts, namely rookie Mohamed Massaquoi, who had a breakout game against the Bengals on Sunday. Also, playmaker Joshua Cribbs would likely get more touches in the offense, so losing Braylon “Drops McGee” Edwards might not be a bad thing.

If Massaquoi and Cribbs step up, there’s zero chance the Browns re-sign Edwards this offseason when he becomes a free agent. Outside of one good season, he’s done nothing to warrant a long-term extension.

Maybe the Browns should see if LeBron is interested in playing the Z position in their offense.

After Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of his friends early Monday morning outside of a Cleveland nightclub, Cavs’ superstar LeBron James called the actions of the Browns receiver “childish.”

From ESPN.com:

James said Edwards punched Edward Givens, a friend of James’ and a promoter with a Cleveland marketing firm who was working outside the club around 2:30 a.m. ET.

“I’ve never crossed paths with Braylon before, but it seems like there’s a little jealousy going on with Braylon and me and my friends. I have no idea why,” James said. “I’ve never said anything to Braylon at all. But for him to do that is very childish. My friend is 130 pounds. Seriously. It’s like hitting one of my kids. It doesn’t make sense.”

James says he was home when the fight occurred, but got a call from Givens telling him about it at 7 a.m. Monday.

As I wrote earlier today when the news broke, this is incredibly bad timing for Edwards, who is seeking a new long-term contract. Why he would feel the need to strike anyone in the face is beyond me, but to do it when you’re trying to convince a team to pay you millions of dollars is just idiotic.

I wonder what fueled Edwards’ hatred of James. I know Braylon takes exception to LeBron not rooting for Cleveland teams, but I hardly think that’s the only reason why Edwards has decided to openly rip James in the past, not to mention punch his buddy in the face.

Considering Braylon is a Michigan guy, one would think that this isn’t a territorial issue. My guess is that Edwards is just flat out jealous that LeBron holds the key to Cleveland while Braylon has been one of the city’s whipping boys for several years now.

Gerardo Orlando of Cleveland Scores wonders if it’s time for the Browns to give up on Braylon following this incident and rookie Mohamed Massaquoi’s coming out party Sunday vs. Cincinnati.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Browns receiver Braylon Edwards has been accused of assaulting a man outside a Cleveland nightclub early Monday morning

Edward Givens said the incident took place outside of the View Night Club on 618 Prospect at about 2:30 a.m. Givens said he went to Lutheran Hospital this morning because he suffered a black eye and a cut. He said he also has a headache.

The suspect’s name on the police report is redacted. But multiple sources and the victim say the suspect is Edwards.

In an interview with Cleveland.com’s Starting Blocks blog this morning, Givens said:

“After the club closed, I was outside greeting and saying goodbye to people. Braylon comes up and started saying things, degrading me. He said if it wasn’t for LeBron or the Four Horsemen, I wouldn’t have what I have, nor would I be able to get girls. Everyone knows Braylon has a problem with LeBron. So I had to speak up for myself. The conversation started to escalate. As some of his teammates started to pull him back, he punched me. I have a black eye and a cut. I’m not a violent guy.

“As long as I’ve known Braylon, I’ve allowed him and his friends to come into our events free of charge. Whatever jealousy he has with LeBron, he felt he needed to take it out on me.”

Police officers then broke up another disturbance involving the suspect.

I’ll hold judgment until more details come out, but I will say that this is the last thing the Browns need after losing to the Bengals in overtime on Sunday to fall to 0-4.

This would also be the last thing Edwards needs seeing as how he’s seeking a new contract. One would think that players seeking multi-million dollar pay raises would lay low during the season, but some athletes continue to prove that they’re not the sharpest tools in the shed.

If Edwards was involved, he should consider himself fortunate if the incident blows over. But if the victim decides to press charges, then Edwards could have a hard time finding a suitor that will give him a long-term deal. Having the dropsies is one thing, punching a man in the face outside a nightclub during the season is quite another.

Another interesting storyline from this incident is Braylon’s supposed hatred for Lebron. Don’t forget that Edwards once ripped Lebron for being from Akron, yet he’s not a “Cleveland guy” and likes “everybody but from his hometown” when it comes to following sports teams.

Looks like Brayon has some hang ups about Lebron owning the city of Cleveland.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Browns’ receiver Braylon Edwards reported to training camp a day late and when he did arrive, failed a team physical.

Because Edwards missed practice time at the team’s mandatory minicamp in June with an undisclosed injury, he was notified by coach Eric Mangini to report to training camp on Monday — four days earlier than non-injured veterans.

When Edwards did not show up, the Browns placed him on the “reserve/did not report” list. Edwards could be fined as much as $17,000 for reporting one day late. Edwards arrived on Tuesday and after failing his physical was transferred to the “active/non-football injury” list.

A couple of months ago when Edwards showed up for OTAs it appeared that he and the Browns were moving in the right direction, at least in terms of him playing out the final year of his contract in Cleveland. Not that this news means that he’ll get traded now, but this certainly isn’t something that the Browns want to deal with a couple days before training camp opens.

I don’t understand why Edwards would report to camp on Tuesday knowing that his coach wanted him there on Monday. One could suggest that he’s rebelling after the Browns tried to trade him this past offseason but again, he showed up to OTAs and was a professional about the situation. So I wonder why he showed up late and thus, risked receiving a fine.

Speaking at Cleveland’s minicamp on Friday, wideout Braylon Edwards said that he wants to remain a Brown despite several rumors that stated he wanted to be traded this offseason.

“I didn’t get excited [about the rumors],” he said. “One, they were rumors and there was nothing to hold on to. And two, I felt like if I would have left Cleveland for any reason, I would have left with a bad taste in my mouth.

“I wanted to get back to playing good football, definitely here. It’s a business and who knows what’s going to happen next year. But for me, it was just about getting back to what I know I can do and being the player the Browns drafted in ’05 and that the fans saw in ’07.”

He said the fact that Browns General Manager George Kokinis engaged in trade talks with the Giants involving him didn’t sour him.

“Obviously they didn’t get what they wanted, which means they felt highly of me to ask for a lot and it didn’t go down that way and I’m still here,” he said. “I’m happy to be here. There’s a lot of players here that I still know, some new players. I remember [rookie receiver] Brian Robiskie at 17, having him out here when he was a ballboy and now he’s one of my teammates. I think it’s going to be a fun season. I’m excited to play with these guys and play in this new system and see what happens.”

“Right now I just want to play,” he said. “I’m not trying to get into contracts or things like that. I believe that focusing on football is what we all need as a Browns organization and we’ll get back to the level we’ve been.”

It’s nice to see that Edwards finally wised up and won’t be a distraction. The bottom line is that he still has one more year left on his contract and outside of his outstanding 2007 season, he hasn’t been productive so far during his career. He doesn’t do himself any good by skipping minicamps or showing up and bitching about his contract. If he doesn’t get traded, he needs to prove to either the Browns or other teams that he’s worth ponying up for at the end of the 2009 season.

Everything he does and says from here on out plays into how big his next contract is.