Braylon Edwards is 6’3” and 214 pounds, he’s only 28 and has been to one Pro Bowl after racking up 80 receptions for 1,2890 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2007.

Given those factoids, the current free agent should be in camp right now after signing a multi-year contract with one of the many wide receiver-needy teams in the NFL. But because he continues to prove that a career in football isn’t among his top priorities, he remains in NFL purgatory. And given this latest incident, he may be there a while.

According to the Birmingham Eccentric, Edwards could end up facing legal trouble for his role in a fight that broke out at a bar in Michigan over the weekend. Apparently two members of his entourage assaulted bar employees with knives and forks and while Edwards wasn’t arrested, two of his cousins have been charged with felonious assault. The bar also claims that Edwards was involved and may have been an instigator.

That sound you just heard was the incineration of any multi-year deal that Edwards was hoping to land this offseason.

Now, let me cover my basis and be diplomatic for a second. Edwards wasn’t arrested, nor was he charged with committing a crime. And in this country, you’re thankfully innocent until proven guilty. Thus, Edwards is innocent at the moment.

But this is also the same man who is already on probation in Cleveland after he reportedly punched a local party promoter in the face outside of a nightclub in 2009. In September of last year, Edwards was also arrested on a drunken driving charge in New York, so there’s a history here. At this point, he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt from anyone.

Teams were already concerned about his stone hands and his questionable desire. If he winds up being suspended because of this latest incident, Edwards will be lucky to accept a one-year deal at the veteran minimum. In fact, even if he isn’t charged with anything, this incident may be enough for teams to avoid him completely.

I think it’s telling that the Jets were more willing to sign Plaxico Burress, who is five years older and is fresh out of prison, than Edwards this offseason.

Update: Edwards has signed a one-year deal with the 49ers, but the contract is only for $1 million. He will receive $3.5 million if he catches 90 passes and makes the Pro Bowl.

Again, considering he’s only 28 and has a Pro Bowl under his belt, $1 million is chump change. He done screwed up.

In Monday’s Quick-Hits, I discuss the two players that cost the Rockies their ace, Randy Moss’s decision to retire, yet another perplexing decision by Giants general manager Brian Sabean, and Braylon Edwards’ shrinking market.

- If Rockie fans are upset with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, they might as well direct their anger at the club’s flubbed selections in the 2006 and 2007 MLB drafts. Colorado selected Greg Reynolds with the second overall pick in the ’06 and Casey Weathers with the eighth overall pick in ’07. Neither right-hander has developed and while there’s plenty of hope for LHP Tyler Matzek, he’s not projected to help the big league club until 2013. That’s why when GM Dan O’Dowd received an offer from the Indians of Alex White and Joe Gardner in exchange for Jimenez, the deal was too good to pass up. The Rockies aren’t rebuilding their farm system: they’re restocking. Granted, Jimenez may right the ship while White and Gardner fail in Colorado, which would obviously make O’Dowd look like a fool. But at the end of the day, this is a deal O’Dowd felt he had to make after blowing the first rounds in ’06 and ’07. He’s essentially trying to make up for past mistakes.

- I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Randy Moss is now the posterchild for what not to do when you’re seeking a new contract in the NFL. Early last season, Moss whined about how the Patriots hadn’t discussed giving him a new contract. When New England told him to be patient, he pouted even more and became a distraction. Worst of all, he stopped playing hard, which is always a fast ticket out of New England with Bill Belichick running things. So he winds up in Minnesota, where he’s a distraction there, too. Finally he lands in Tennessee, where the coaching staff apparently realized that he was done as an NFL-caliber receiver. And now? Instead of continuing his career as a role player, he has decided to retire. Moss has been one hell of a player. He ranks eighth in career receptions, fifth in receiving yards and second only to Jerry Rice in touchdowns. But there will be a debate about whether or not he’s voted into the Hall of Fame after he quit on the Raiders and got himself traded out of New England and Minnesota. It’s amazing what kind of numbers Moss could have put up if had possessed Rice’s attitude.

- SF Giants GM Brian Sabean has some explaining to do after the Phillies and Braves landed younger outfielders under team control (Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn, respectively) without giving up their top prospects, while he traded for a 34-year-old free agent-to-be and had to give up his best farm arm. Oh, and Orlando Cabrera for Thomas Neal? Does Sabean have to overpay for every veteran talent that he wants? It’s like if he walks into an electronic store, sees a TV he likes and then asks the salesman if he could purchase said TV for triple the cost. Meanwhile, competing general managers walk into the same store and purchase newer models with comparable features for three-fourths of the price. I just don’t get Sabean’s philosophy when it comes to trades but then again, he has a World Series ring and I don’t so maybe I should shut my mouth. (Of course, when he overpays to keep Beltran this winter, I’ll be sure to open it again.)

- It took a while, but teams are finally starting to stay away with Braylon Edwards. At 6’3” and 214 pounds, he certainly looks the part of a No. 1 receiver. But his inconsistent hands coupled with the fact that football isn’t real high on his priorities list makes teams stay away. He’s on the verge of signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals because the receiver market is essentially dried up. Considering he’s only 28 and once caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and scored 16 touchdowns in one season, he shouldn’t be accepting one-year deals. But teams aren’t stupid and know he’s a huge risk.

Santonio Holmes will get $24 million guaranteed under his new deal over five years. This is a good move for the Jets, as Holmes makes Mark Sanchez a better quarterback. Who knows what they’ll do with Braylon Edwards, but he’s an afterthought.

There have been a couple of interesting reports surrounding the Jets over the last couple of days, specifically their receiving corps.

On Saturday, Santonio Holmes told ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini that he won’t sign his restricted free agent tender if the 2010 work rules remain in place for 2011. The Jets placed a first-and-third-round restricted free agent tender on Holmes last month, but he says he wants a long-term deal and will sign with the highest bidder if he hits the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

On Tuesday, Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Globe noted that Randy Moss could eventually wind up in a Jets uniform this year.

Randy Moss in a Jets uniform? It could happen. Among several free agents, the Jets have receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. They have said re-signing Holmes is a priority. Edwards would likely have to agree to a contract with the Jets that might be less than market value. And he might very well balk at that and cash in elsewhere. Enter Moss, another big target. Only one team, the Titans, put in a claim for him when he was released by the Vikings. And considering his performance in Tennessee, most teams aren’t going to waste their time with a 34-year-old receiver with diminishing skills, let alone one who’s known as a problem child. But coach Rex Ryan could be interested. Ryan has enough cachet where he could keep Moss in line, and the Jets would probably enjoy tweaking the Patriots. Ryan spoke highly of Moss last month. “Randy Moss, I’ve said all along, is a great vertical receiver,’’ Ryan said at the owners’ meetings. “And you have to roll coverage. Most teams would have to roll coverage to him. We never did, but we got burned for a touchdown. But he was a weapon. A vertical weapon down the field.’’ Curiously, when Ryan began to speak about Moss, he checked first with team spokesman Bruce Speight to see if it would be tampering.

Even though Moss would probably sign a one-year deal for cheap (assuming he even wants to play for Ryan and the Jets), I don’t see how New York can sign Holmes, Edwards and Moss in one offseason. And why would they want to? This isn’t “Madden” and there’s only one football to go around.

Receiver will be a priority this offseason, but the Jets also need help at defensive end, linebacker and guard, too. Giving Holmes a long-term deal, signing Moss for cheap and allowing Edwards to walk probably makes the most sense (again, assuming that both Moss and the Jets are interested in each other). That would allow the Jets to concentrate on other areas as well.

The sight of Braylon Edwards doing back flips after the Jets beat the Patriots on Sunday must have made Brown fans want to puke. He didn’t help their team win anything in Cleveland and now the jagoff is knocking on the door of a Super Bowl appearance.

What makes the situation even tougher for Cleveland fans is that the Browns could have had the quarterback that absolutely shredded the top-seeded Falcons the night before Edwards and the Jets beat the Patriots. Twenty-one slots after the Browns selected Edwards with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Packers nabbed California quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Where would the Browns be today had they taken Rodgers instead?

Granted, no two situations are ever exactly alike – especially in the NFL. There’s no guarantee that had Cleveland selected Rodgers over Edwards that the Browns would be where the Packers are today. It just doesn’t work that way in sports – or life for that matter. Rodgers could have turned out to be the next Tim Couch for all we know and as I point out below, had the Browns drafted him that year, they may have never acquired feature back Peyton Hillis in 2010.

But for a moment, let’s play the “What if?” game. Let’s pretend that everything would have worked out for Rodgers in Cleveland, just like it has in Green Bay. Let’s assume that the quarterback-needy Browns would have set themselves up by taking Rodgers at No. 3 and with that in mind, what other teams blew it by not selecting the California gunslinger?

Come with me on a journey back to Saturday, April 23, 2005. Below is a list of 10 quarterback-needy teams that passed on Rodgers that fateful day and at what pick in the draft. Also listed are the players those teams took ahead of Rodgers, and a brief look at their current situation.

No. 1 San Francisco 49ers
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Alex Smith, QB
This one probably stings the most. Smith and Rodgers were the only quarterbacks that were worthy of taking at No. 1 and the Niners were set on taking a signal caller. They decided on Smith because they fell in love with his athleticism, which was something Rodgers supposedly didn’t have enough of. Thanks to constant coaching turnover and an unstable situation, Smith hasn’t panned out and Rodgers is running around the Georgia Dome carpet making plays with both his arm and legs. So much for not having any athleticism…

No. 2 Miami Dolphins
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Ronnie Brown
Brown certainly wasn’t a bad pick and he’s carved a nice niche for himself in Miami’s Wildcat offense. But injuries limited him in 2007 and 2009 and he’s only rushed over 1,000 yards once in his career (2006/ 1,008 yards). Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ QB situation remains unsettled. Chad Pennington took them to the playoffs in 2008, but he struggled in ’09 and Chad Henne doesn’t look like he’s the answer either.

No. 3 Cleveland Browns
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Braylon Edwards
Colt McCoy may develop into a good starting quarterback someday and hey, if the Browns drafted Rodgers in ’05 they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to fleece Josh McDaniels in the Brady Quinn-Peyton Hillis trade. But that doesn’t change the fact that Edwards was a massive bust outside of his 2007 season when he broke franchise records for receiving yards (1,289) and touchdowns (16). Plus, let’s not forget that Cleveland fans wouldn’t have had to endure the Derek Anderson era had the Browns drafted Rodgers.

No. 6 Tennessee Titans
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Pacman Jones
I’m having a hard time deciding which team put themselves in a worse situation: the Browns for drafting Edwards or the Titans for selecting Pacman. Edwards had a few off-field issues but nothing like the problems Jones had. There’s a contingent in Tennessee that believes Vince Young can still be the Titans’ starting quarterback now and in the future, but I highly doubt any of them would pass on the chance to take Rodgers over Pacman if they were given the opportunity.

No. 7 & No. 18 Minnesota Vikings
Who they drafted instead of Rodgers: Troy Williamson and Erasmus James
As loyal TSR reader snd_dsgnr pointed out in my latest “I’m Just Saying…” column, the Vikings had no idea that Daunte Culpepper would struggle at the beginning of the ’05 season and then shred his ACL, PCL and MCL later in the year. He threw for a league-high 4,717 yards and a team-record 39 touchdowns in 2004, so obviously Minnesota had no interest in Rodgers. But what’s painful for Viking fans is not only do they have a front row seat for Rodgers’ success, but their team also drafted two busts in WR Troy Williamson and DE Erasmus James in the first round that year. This is the only current quarterback-needy team that passed on Rodgers not once, but twice in that first round. (Again, not their fault given Culpepper’s success the year before.)

No. 8 Arizona Cardinals
Who they drafted instead of Rodgers: Antrel Rolle
Even though their team lost in the Super Bowl, Cardinal fans wouldn’t trade that 2007 season for anything and Kurt Warner was largely to thank for Arizona’s success that year. Plus, even though he was overrated, Rolle wasn’t a complete bust. Still, given how bad their current quarterback situation, there must be some fans that think about what could have been.

No. 10 Detroit Lions
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Mike Williams
Lion fans could probably go either way with this. Some feel as though Matthew Stafford will be a stud and therefore are fine with their current situation, while others would trade Stafford’s potential for Rodgers’ current success in a heartbeat. But no matter what side of the fence fans are on, everyone can agree that Mike Williams was yet another wasted pick by Matt “The Dream Killa” Millen. In fact, most fans would have loved if Millen drafted DeMarcus Ware, who was taken by the Cowboys with the very next pick.

No. 14 Carolina Panthers
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Thomas Davis
Davis is a stud and will continue to be one of the Panthers’ core defensive players for years to come. But I included Carolina on this list because, well…because of Jimmy Clausen.

No. 21 Jacksonville Jaguars
Who they took instead of Rodgers: Matt Jones
I happen to think that David Garrard is fine in the right situation (i.e. if he has enough talent around him so he doesn’t have to be a superstar) and sometimes he’s even a little underrated. Plus, at the time, the Jags were still hoping that Byron Leftwich could be their quarterback for years to come. But the selection of Matt Jones was absolutely horrendous. He duped teams with a great combine workout and then he never successfully made the transition from college quarterback to NFL wide receiver. He also had major off-field issues and therefore remains one of the biggest reaches in draft history.

No. 23 Oakland Raiders
Who they selected instead of Rodgers: Fabian Washington
JaMarcus Russell. We’re done here.

Here are six quick-hit thoughts on the Jets’ 17-16 upset of the Colts on Saturday night.

1. Caldwell blew it by calling that time out.
There’s no doubt that Jim Caldwell should not have called a time out with 29 seconds remaining in the game. The Jets were down to their final time out and were on the 32-yard line. Had Caldwell let the clock continue to run, the Jets would have likely only ran one more play before using their final time out and kicking a longish field goal. Instead, Caldwell used the Colts’ last TO (presumably to leave time for Peyton Manning) and Mark Sanchez completed an 18-yard pass to Braylon Edwards (who made a heck of grab) on the next play. After burning their final TO, the Jets won the game on a 32-yard Nick Folk field goal as time expired. Caldwell’s blunder was three-fold: 1) It stopped the clock, 2) it allowed Sanchez and his coaching staff to calmly gather their thoughts and choose their final offensive play and 3) it ultimately made Folk’s field goal attempt 18 yards shorter. I guarantee you Sanchez doesn’t even look Edwards way if his coaches didn’t tell him that play was open during the time out. And I can almost guarantee you that Folk doesn’t make a game-winning field goal on the road from 40-50 yards out instead of 32. One play or coaching decision never decides the outcome of a game. But this is one Caldwell we think about all offseason.

2) That said…
If Manning completes that 3rd-and-6 pass to Blair White on the prior possession, then the Colts would have ran the clock down and kicked the game-winner themselves. But because the pass fell incomplete, the Colts left time on the clock. And because there was time on the clock, Antonio Cromartie’s ability to bring the ensuing kickoff back to the 46-yard-line was huge. Does anyone believe that Sanchez would have marched his team into field goal range if he had to go 80 yards to do it? I was waiting for a pick-six myself. Caldwell’s decision to call a time out was bad. But the game would have never reached that point if one of the aforementioned situations doesn’t happen.

3) Sanchez finally makes a play when he has to.
Sanchez’s performance on the Jets’ final drive before halftime was brutal. He had zero touch on the pass that went over Dustin Keller in the end zone and the pass that Justin Tryon intercepted reeked of desperation. But give Sanchez credit: the throw he made to Edwards to set up Folk’s game-winner was right where it needed to be. Edwards made the play by going up and catching the ball at its highest point, then making sure he got both feet down and inbounds (where was that effort in Cleveland all those years?). But the throw was there. After he spent most of the game failing to make plays, Sanchez finally delivered when it mattered most.

4) The Colts’ run defense let them down again.
Their run defense was one of the reasons the Colts finished hot down the stretch. But they allowed the Jets’ offense to wake up after halftime by leaving gaping holes for LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene to run through. Up until that point, the Jets couldn’t do much offensively. But once they were able to take the game out of Sanchez’s hands, they were highly effective. They started to gain confidence because of their running game and that wouldn’t have happened unless the interior of Indy’s run defense hadn’t turned to Charmin tissue paper. The Colts’ biggest concern in preseason came back to bite them and it was one of the reasons they’ll be watching from their couches next week.

5) The Colts needed more out of Manning.
What I’m about to write probably isn’t fair. Manning completed 18-of-26 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Some people will ask what more he could have done. My answer? I don’t know…more. He just needed to do more in the biggest game of the year. The Jets’ offense was brutal in the first half and Manning failed to sustain drives. Credit Darrelle Revis for shutting down Reggie Wayne and Rex Ryan for daring Manning to throw by often going with only three down linemen and 28 defensive backs. But for a guy who has owned Ryan-led defenses in the past, Manning’s performance certainly left a lot to be desired. Again, that’s probably not fair given his final numbers and he definitely wasn’t one of the reasons they lost. But this is the playoffs and Mark Sanchez certainly didn’t do enough to earn a win (yet he did).

6. What’s next?
How crazy is it that the two conference champions from last year were knocked out in the first round this year on the same day? While the Colts head home for the year, the Jets have earned another date with Tom Brady and the Patriots. If the game next week is anything like the 45-3 drubbing that New England laid on Ryan’s squad in December, then make sure you hit your local Red Box beforehand to ensure you have a backup plan for the night.

Yet another athlete who should have hired a driver (from the New York Post):

Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was busted on a drunken driving charge early this morning, after cops pulled him over on the West Side and found he had double the legal limit of alcohol in his system, police said.

Edwards, 27, was arrested at 5:15 a.m. and charged with DWI, after cops pulled over his Range Rover at 34th Street and 12th Avenue for having overly-tinted windows. Police said they smelled alcohol and Edwards blew a 0.16 on a Breathalyzer, or double the state’s legal limit of 0.08.

It isn’t the first time Edwards has run afoul of the law. In October, just before he was traded to the Jets from the Browns, Edwards punched a friend of LeBron James outside a Cleveland nightclub.

Edwards settled the case by pleading no contest to aggravated assault. He received a suspended 180-day jail sentence, and was fined $1,000 and placed on probation.

Every time an athlete is charged with drunken driving, my coworker John Paulsen points out how easy it would be for athletes just to hire a driver. And I couldn’t agree more; why risk it? Why risk millions of dollars and potentially hurt someone else when you could have just paid for a personal driver? Or gotten a cab?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. We all make mistakes, but these types of arrests can always be avoided.