According to a report by the New York Post, the NFL won’t suspend Jets receiver Braylon Edwards for an incident in which he allegedly punched a Cleveland nightclub owner in early October.

Edwards on Monday was charged with misdemeanor assault in Cleveland Municipal Court for his alleged connection with an incident outside a downtown nightclub shortly before the Jets acquired him in a trade with the Browns.

The NFL spokesperson said that “under the PC [player conduct] policy, when a player like Braylon, with no prior history of conduct issues, has been charged, we wait for a court resolution. Then we would review the facts for any possible discipline.”

So, there’s still a chance that he could be suspended if he faces any legal ramifications from the incident. That doesn’t bode too well for him as he pursues a long-term contract this offseason.

Edwards better amp up his production and hope the Jets think that he’s worth a multi-year deal or else he’s not going to receive many offers this offseason. He picked the wrong time to (allegedly) punch a guy in the face.

Former Browns and current Jets receiver Braylon Edwards has been charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from accusations that he punched a man outside a Cleveland nightclub in early October.

From ESPN.com:

Cleveland city prosecutor Victor Perez filed the charge Monday. It carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. An arraignment was scheduled for Nov. 17 in Cleveland Municipal Court.

I highly doubt Edwards sees any jail time, but you never know. Witnesses that have been interviewed by the media claim that Edwards definitely threw the punch, but Braylon says a member of his crew threw the haymaker and not him.

Let the he said, she said commentary begin.

- CLEVELAND SCORES writes that Peter King has handed out some bad advice to Browns head coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis regarding how the team should go to great lengths to draft either Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy next year.

- THE BLEACHER REPORT writes that the fuss over the Dodgers and Phillies’ bullpens is complete bull.

- SPORTSbyBROOKS downloads the message by Braylon Edwards to all Browns fans: Go Tweet Josh Cribbs.

- DRAFT ZOO breaks down the best matchups on the Week 7 schedule in college football.

- YARDBARKER (via Deadspin) put together a list of athletes that are going to hell for their off-field actions.

- DEADSPIN wonders if black players will refuse to play for Rush Limbaugh.

- BALL DON’T LIE has a funny video of the clueless BBC announcers as they try to call a recent Bulls/Jazz game in London.

- SPORTSBYBROOKS details the downfall of Rumeal Robinson, which can be summed up in one word: strippers.

- NO GUTS, NO GLORY reports that Browns players are upset about the Braylon Edwards trade.

- MR. IRRELEVANT comments on the Clinton Portis/Mike Sellers feud. It’s a bad sign when a tailback is fighting with his fullback.

Per Cleveland.com…

WKNR staffer questioned: Sabrina Parr, a contributor to WKNR AM/850, is being questioned by police after giving her eyewitness account of the Edwards incident outside The View Wednesday morning on the station’s morning show with Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer.

“I’ve just been told it’s a police matter and they’re investigating further,” said station general manager Keith Williams.

Parr, who has discussed on air her on-off relationship with cornerback Brandon McDonald, said she saw Edwards punch Edward Givens after the bar closed. She said Edwards eavesdropped on Givens’ conversation with someone about James, and that he went over voluntarily and began telling Givens he would be nothing without James.

She said Edwards’ agent tried to get him in his car to leave. Instead, Edwards punched Givens.

Parr said she talked to Edwards earlier in the evening at the club and that he said disparaging things about the coaching staff and the quarterbacks. She said Edwards said he had no room for improvement and didn’t take any blame for his drops. She said she got into a disagreement with him about his views of how he was playing. Parr was the first eyewitness of the event to go on record.

All right, so let me get this straight — Ms. Parr (who is/was dating Brandon McDonald) argued with Edwards inside a bar about whether or not he was to blame for his drops. Then, after the bar closed, she saw Edwards go over to LeBron’s friend (Givens) and tell him he’d be nothing without LeBron. Then she claims she saw Edwards punch Givens.

All due respect to Ms. Parr, but I’ve been outside my fair share of bars at closing time and no one’s word should be trusted implicitly. If she’s admitting to arguing with Edwards inside the bar about his play, then it would appear that her eyewitness account outside of the bar could be called into question.

One thing is for sure — Braylon Edwards has to be happy to be out of Cleveland. He’s playing for a much better team and has an up-and-coming quarterback to work with. He is out of excuses. If he doesn’t make it with the Jets, then he’s probably a lost cause.

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer lists some of the many reasons why the Browns eventually decided to trade troubled receiver Braylon Edwards.

I do it because my team is 0-4 with Edwards, whose 10 catches are actually one fewer than what Stuckey has with the Jets. I do it because when the Browns tried to deal Edwards around the draft, the highest pick they could receive was a third-rounder along with some journeymen veterans.

I do it because Edwards never wanted to play here — he was hoping to be the No. 2 pick in the 2005 draft to Miami. Instead, he went No. 3 to the Browns. And then he believed Browns fans soured on him because he played for Michigan — as if dropping more passes than any NFL receiver over the last two seasons had nothing to do with that discontent.

I do it because Edwards too often ran the wrong pass patterns, making his quarterbacks look bad by throwing to the wrong spots. And because Edwards spent much of Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to Cincinnati talking into the ear of quarterback Derek Anderson. He wanted the ball thrown in his direction when the coaches were calling plays to deliver the ball to rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, who was in the process of catching eight passes.

I do it because Edwards seemed far more upset about not catching a pass in a game for the first time in his five-year career then the team losing a game they could have won.

I do it knowing that some people won’t like the trade, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. For the Browns, Edwards has been durable in terms of playing on Sunday and practicing, but unreliable in so many other areas — and he is no longer worth the trouble to me or the Browns.

To read Pluto’s entire column, click here.

It’s always easier to say this after the fact, but Edwards should have never been a top 5 pick to begin with. Too many times while at Michigan he would let the ball get into his pads and not catch it with his hands. So his problems with drops aren’t surprising and when you factor in his lackluster work ethic, you get a guy who wastes a lot of natural athletic ability.

Pluto hit the nail on the head several times throughout his piece, but none more then when he writes that Edwards just didn’t want to be a Brown. He was disappointed from the start and his attitude only continued to sour as his play flat lined. With a fresh start, maybe he can turn his career around in New York.

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…

ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports that the Jets have acquired receiver Braylon Edwards in exchange for wideout Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnick and two draft picks believed to be third and fifth rounders.

This is an interesting move for both sides. Because of Edwards’ recent off-field incident, his trade value was never lower, so the Jets jumped on the opportunity to acquire him even though he could inevitably be suspended. If he isn’t suspended and he winds up turning his career around with a this fresh start in New York, then the Jets accomplish their goal of adding a No. 1 (caliber) receiver for rookie QB Mark Sanchez.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.