Tag: Cleveland Browns (Page 39 of 57)

      Report: Braylon Edwards likely to stay a Brown in 2009

      March 13, 2009 /

      According to Luke Chandler of the Akron Beacon-Journal, wide receiver Braylon Edwards is likely to remain with the Browns in 2009 despite rumors that he could be traded this offseason.

      4Braylon Edwards, WR – With the trade of Winslow, Edwards is likely going to be a Brown again in 2009, which is a free agency year for him. The team would have to get at least a first round, and multiple future picks for the Edwards trade to make any sense.

      There are a couple of wildcards in a trade scenario involving Edwards. First and foremost, new head coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis have no previous ties to Edwards and as they proved with Kellen Winslow, they’re not shy about trading a key piece if the right deal came along.

      Edwards’ contract also expires at the end of the year and if Kokinis doesn’t feel that the Browns could re-sign him next offseason (if Kokinis would even want to re-sign him that is), it would make sense to get compensation now.

      Finally, the Giants are in quite the predicament with Plaxico Burress and are clearly in need of a wide receiver. One rumor that has been circulating had the Giants trading DE/OLB Mathias Kiwanuka for Edwards, although that hasn’t picked up much steam over the past couple weeks.

      But in the end, maybe Chandler is right and Edwards will remain a Brown. He certainly has a ton of talent, but he has underachieved for most of his career in Cleveland and unless he produces this season, it makes no sense for the Browns to pony up next offseason to retain him.

      NFL

      Don Banks Mock Draft 3.0

      March 12, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Don Banks has the Lions taking Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith with the first overall pick in April’s draft.

      1. Lions – Jason Smith, Baylor
      With six weeks and two days remaining before the draft, I’m still not buying that the Lions are going to take their $30 million-plus gamble on Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, a junior who looks like anything but a sure thing. I reserve the right to read the tea leaves differently at some point, but the Lions’ smart play to me would be to play it safe at No. 1 with either Smith or linebacker Aaron Curry, and then explore getting a quarterback like Kansas State’s Josh Freeman with a slight trade down from No. 20, or with their second-rounder at 33.

      2. Rams – Eugene Monroe, Virginia
      No Orlando Pace in Rams horns any more should make this the biggest no-brainer of the top five. St. Louis badly needs an offensive tackle, and it picked the right year to be in that position.

      3. Chiefs – Aaron Curry, Wake Forest
      The Chiefs can’t possibly miss in this slot. If the Lions go quarterback at the top, K.C. will have their pick between Curry, the draft’s cleanest prospect, and one of the top two offensive tackles. If Detroit goes for Curry, the Chiefs still get the tackle they need in either Smith or Monroe. And if the Lions and Rams both go offensive tackle, Kansas City winds up with the defensive play-maker it lacks in Curry.

      4. Seahawks – B.J. Raji, Boston College
      This is how free agency and the draft are supposed to work in tandem. The Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh this month, so they don’t have to take Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree any more. And they added ex-Packers defensive tackle Colin Cole to replace the departed Rocky Bernard, so Raji isn’t a must-have either. But quality defensive tackles are always prized and much tougher to find than starting receivers.

      5. Browns – Everette Brown, Florida State
      This is much higher than I had Brown going in my last mock (to Miami at No. 25), but Cleveland’s need is for an edge pass-rusher at outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense, and there just aren’t that many choices to be had in that department. Plenty of mocks have the Browns going for Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, but I hear the Browns don’t like him all that much.

      That’s a pretty solid top 5, although Brown is a major reach at No. 5. Still, as Banks notes, the Browns are in desperate need of a pass rusher and need one, if not two starting linebackers for next season.

      Banks has Michael Crabtree falling to the Raiders at No. 7, which certainly makes sense given Al Davis’s desire to land the flashy pick. Banks also has Mark Sanchez (No. 8 to Jacksonville) being selected before Matthew Stafford (No. 10 to San Francisco), which is sure a trend that other mock drafts will surely to follow if they haven’t already. (If you’re looking for my two cents, I don’t think there’s any way Sanchez goes ahead of Stafford, but crazier things have happened.)


      Click here to check out the rest of Banks’ mock      .

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Eagles sign safety Sean Jones

      March 8, 2009 /

      Sean JonesThe Eagles signed safety Sean Jones (formerly of the Browns) to a one-year, $3 million contract. Jones will compete with Quentin Demps for the starting free safety job, which became available when Brain Dawkins signed with the Broncos last week.

      I’m a little surprised that all Jones got on the open market was a one-year deal. I’m also surprised that the Browns didn’t make more of an effort to re-sign Jones, who has Pro Bowl talent but injuries plagued him all last season.

      Did the Browns realize Jones was damaged goods and let him walk or was this just another player Eric Mangini didn’t envision being a part of Cleveland’s long-term plans defensively? Either way, this was a low-risk signing by the Eagles and if Jones can have a bounce back season, he’ll have a chance to hit the open market again in 2010 and maybe cash in like he was supposed to do this offseason before injuries killed his ’09 campaign. And even if he struggles again, Philly has a backup plan with Demps and can part with Jones next offseason without taking a cap hit.

      NFL

      Browns shopping Braylon Edwards?

      March 5, 2009 /

      According to Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News, the Browns are reportedly shopping wide receiver Braylon Edwards.

      This rumor has been circulating for over a month, but so far nothing concrete has developed. Cimini doesn’t even go into much detail about the subject, in fact all he writes is that he got a “hot tip” that Cleveland is shopping Edwards and asks readers whether or not the Jets should be interested.

      One small rumor that developed late last week had the Browns shipping Edwards to the Giants for Mathias Kiwanuka, which on the surface makes sense. Cleveland is dying for a pass rusher and Kiwanuka, who has experience at both defensive end and linebacker, certainly fits the bill. New York is in obvious need of a wideout with the uncertainty of Plaxico Burress’s situation hanging over their heads, and is stacked with defensive linemen and linebackers after signing Chris Canty, Michael Boley and Rocky Bernard last week.

      But even with the depth they have at defensive end and linebacker, why would the Giants target Edwards? At 26 he’s still young, but he has yet to post more than one 1,000-yard and one 10-touchdown season in his four-year career. Take away his breakout 2007 season (which at this point was an obvious fluke) and he has very pedestrian numbers – not too mention he also came down with a major case of the drops last season. So again, why would the Giants give up a coveted pass-rusher in Kiwanuka (who don’t forget was a late first round pick) for a warm body in Edwards?

      If the Browns do wind up trading Edwards, it probably won’t be until draft day when they could possibly package him with picks and hope for decent compensation. Until then, speculation will run rampant but little action is sure to follow.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Browns trade Kellen Winslow to Bucs

      February 27, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns have traded tight end Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers for undisclosed draft picks. Rotoworld.com speculates that Cleveland could be getting a second and a late round pick in the trade.

      This is a bold move by Tampa. Signing him to a new contract won’t be an issue because the Bucs have loads of cap space (the most in the NFL, in fact), but their quarterback situation is still unsettled and the bigger problem is that Winslow can’t stay healthy. He is also a head case that has the ability to disrupt a locker room, came down with a case of the dropsies last year and if he feels that he’s not getting the ball enough, there’s no shortage of bitching.

      Still, Winslow is a talented player and at 25, he has a lot of football ahead of him if he can stay healthy. Tight end was also a major need for the Bucs and acquiring Winslow should only help Antonio Bryant on the outside. And hey, there’s no doubt Tampa got a solider! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

      As for the Browns, this was a good move. Winslow had already expressed his desire to leave Cleveland and given his health concerns, his trade value was sure to diminish the longer the Browns hung onto him. Cleveland was also in major need of draft picks after former GM Phil Savage handed them out like gentlemen’s club fliers on the Vegas strip last offseason.

      The Browns traded up in the 2008 draft to select former Missouri tight end Martin Rucker in the fourth round, but he has knee issues and couldn’t pass Darnell Dinkins on the depth chart last season. In other words, expect the Browns to address the position this offseason. The best available free agent would be L.J. Smith (Eagles), who is also rumored to be on the Falcons’ radar.

      NFL

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