Should Browns release Winslow?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/24/2008 @ 9:30 am)
Patrick McManamon of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that the Browns should do themselves a favor and cut ties with angry tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.
Note that on Wednesday when his teammates were asked about Winslow, not one expressed concern about the team’s approach to staph, and not one came to Winslow’s defense.
That’s not an accident.
Savage and Crennel said they would welcome Winslow back, provided that he’s not disruptive and that he is productive.
It’s too late.
The Browns are a 2-4 team with Winslow playing while worried about his contract.
What will they be with him playing while obsessed about getting out of Cleveland?
It’s too bad the option to keep him inactive the rest of the season — a la the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Keyshawn Johnson — is no longer there. (That move does not exist under the current NFL collective bargaining agreement.)
So release him.
Winslow can find out what he’s worth on the open market, and the Browns can move on.
There comes a point where enough is enough and it appears that Phil Savage and the Browns are to that point with Winslow. He certainly hasn’t done himself any favors since he arrived in Cleveland and who could blame the team if they wanted to part ways? Considering he was a top 10 pick, it would be a shame if the Browns couldn’t get anything for him, but sometimes you have to learn when to cut your losses.
Is the end in sight for Winslow and Browns?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/22/2008 @ 10:37 am)
The Browns suspended tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. for one-game following his verbal bashing of GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel in the wake of what he felt was the team’s mishandling of a staph infection. And as Patrick McManamon of the Akron Beacon Journal writes, this could be the beginning of the end for Winslow in Cleveland.
This comes from nothing anyone said privately or publicly, but from the occurrences of the past few days and from the statement released by General Manager Phil Savage that was so cold it had icicles dripping from it.
This clearly is one angry GM.
Savage has always been restrained with announcements and news. That he was blunt and direct in the statement about Winslow speaks volumes.
Savage called Winslow’s comments ”unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organization.” He said the comments ”brought unjustified negative attention to our organization, and violated the team-first concept of our football squad.”
…But Winslow undercut Crennel twice — first after the game on Sunday, then Monday morning when he had more to say after meeting with Crennel on the team plane Sunday night.
Winslow cares about the team. But he also believes that he is better than most anyone and that is why he expects the ball.
This time, though, he put himself ahead of the team. After a tough loss, he made it about himself. If his coach is not on board with the suspension — and does anyone expect Crennel to say anything today except ”we’ve moved on”? — Winslow need only realize he is the one who put his coach in this position.
McManamon goes on to note that the Browns were in no hurry to re-do Winslow’s contract this offseason and they even went as far to draft a tight end (Martin Rucker) in this year’s draft.
If the Browns do part was with Winslow, it would be another first rounder from the 2004 draft that a team has sent packing. The Lions recently traded WR Roy Williams to the Cowboys and released RB Kevin Jones, the Falcons dealt CB DeAngelo Hall to the Raiders this offseason and the Jets sent LB Jonathan Vilma to the Saints before the start o of the year. Interesting.
Posted in: NFL
Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, DeAngelo Hall, Detroit Lions, Jonathan Vilma, Kellen Winslow Jr., Kellen Winslow Jr. quotes, Kevin Jones, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Phil Savage, Romeo Crennel, Roy Williams
Browns beat Palmer-less Bengals for first win
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/28/2008 @ 4:40 pm)
The Browns weren’t overly impressive, but they beat the Bengals 20-12 to notch their first victory of the year.
With the threat of being replaced by Brady Quinn as his motivation, Derek Anderson led Cleveland to the win but didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet. He did complete 15 of 24 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, but also threw an ugly interception. (Although hey, all interceptions are ugly.) Jamal Lewis rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown, while TE Kellen Winslow Jr. continues to be the Browns’ best offensive weapon, hauling in five catches for 54 yards.
Ryan Fitzpatrick started in place for the injured Carson Palmer and played like a backup, tossing three interceptions in the loss. He did out-rush Chris Perry 41 to 28, but obviously that’s not a good thing. For a team that gave the defending champion Giants hell last week, the Bungles once again looked brutal.
What a nasty game. Both teams combined for seven turnovers and at one point, the Browns started fighting with each other on the sideline. Hopefully the players were arguing over how bad Braylon Edwards’ guitar-playing touchdown celebration was.