…okay, not really. But LeBron did say recently that he could succeed in NFL if he put in the time and Browns head coach Eric Mangini has a helmet waiting for him if he ever wants to give it a try.

From ESPN.com:

“If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good,” he said Tuesday night, “no matter what team I was on.”

Mangini agreed, calling James “a freak athletically” and said the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder could be dangerous at tight end, wide receiver or even outside linebacker.

Quarterback Brady Quinn also heard about James’ football fetish. He would love to have a target to throw to like James in the red zone.
“That’d be great,” Quinn said. “Tell him to suit up and let us know, we’ll get him working. Obviously he’s an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we’d be more than willing to pick him up.”

Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers isn’t convinced James, as great as he is, could step into the NFL and be able to handle the pounding.
“I heard that comment,” Rogers said. “I have mixed emotions about that. A great athlete? Yes. A football player? No.”

Rogers then looked into TV cameras.

“Yeah LeBron, I said it,” he said. “It’s a punishing game. I just don’t think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don’t think it’s possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment.”

That’s all the Cavs and the city of Cleveland needs: For LeBron hurt playing for a 1-8 Browns team going nowhere fast.

Given how gifted an athlete James is, I could see him succeeding in the NFL if he put in the time. But I agree with Rogers in that he couldn’t just step onto the field this Sunday and have an impact. For starters, he’s never run a pro route and he’s never read a defense. If he was told to just run straight down the field and then look for the ball, I could see him making a play or two. But he’d be lost if he were to start a game without practicing and I could only imagine him getting laid out going across the middle.

The front office for the Cavs would rather die than see this come to fruition, but I would love to see LeBron play for just one game to see how he’d do – even if it were just for a couple of plays.

Of course, that would require Brady Quinn to throw a pass longer than three yards in bounds, which is something I seriously doubt he could handle.

Check out all of our 2009 NFL team previews.

Offseason Additions: Eric Barton (LB); Kenyon Coleman (DE); Abram Elam (S); Floyd Womack (OT); C.J. Mosley (DE); Robert Royal (TE); John St. Clair (OT); Mike Fuerry (WR); Corey Ivy (CB).

Offseason Losses: Kellen Winslow Jr. (TE); Sean Jones (S); Kevin Shaffer (OT); Andra Davis (LB); Willie McGinest (LB); Joe Jurevicius (WR); Travis Daniels (CB); Daven Holly (CB); Jason Wright (RB); Antwan Peek (LB).

Player to Watch: James Davis, RB.
People outside of Cleveland just said to themselves, “James who?” The rookie sixth round pick out of Clemson wasn’t supposed to challenge Jamal Lewis for the Browns’ starting running back job, but that’s exactly what he has done to this point. Cleveland’s coaching staff has reportedly been impressed by Davis’s speed, elusiveness and aggressive running style. But perhaps most importantly, the Browns are thrilled with the way he’s learned how to pick up the blitz, which is a craft most rookie running backs struggle with. To date, Davis has compiled a 7.8-yard per carry average in preseason, while Lewis has only mustered a paltry 2.6 YPC. If he doesn’t flat out take the starting job away from Lewis, Davis will certainly split carries this season and could emerge as the Browns’ every down back in the very near future.

Team Strength: Just as it was in 2007 when the Browns came up just shy of a playoff berth, the offensive line will be a strength for Cleveland this season. Even though some say that his play fell off last season compared to his dazzling rookie campaign, Joe Thomas anchors a unit that also features one of the league’s best guards in Eric Steinbach. The Browns also selected the top center prospect in this year’s draft in Alex Mack, who has already beaten out Hank Fraley to become a starter. Neither Floyd Womack nor John St. Clair is a superstar at their positions, but both have starting experience and are versatile.

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I’m going to preface this post by apologizing for not having a link, but Terry Foster from WXYT Sports Radio in Detroit just reported on his talk show that the Browns could release defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and if they did, he wants to play for the Lions again.

This is a massive rumor and I suggest everyone takes it with a huge grain of salt, but considering Rogers and new Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini didn’t get off on the right foot when they first met, it’s not far-fetched that the Browns would part ways with the defensive tackle. Plus, by dealing Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers earlier this offseason and nearly trading wideout Braylon Edwards before the draft, it’s clear that Mangini wants his own players and isn’t afraid to part with anyone from the old regime.

But the reality of the situation is that the Browns would take a cap hit of around $9 million in they released Rogers and he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season. The Browns also didn’t address the defensive line position in last week’s draft (second round pick David Veikune played defensive end at Hawaii, but Cleveland views him as an outside linebacker) and they don’t have a viable replacement for Rogers if they did part ways with him. Plus, Rogers reported to the Browns’ offseason workouts in late March, so any ill-will towards Mangini apparently has been settled.

It also doesn’t make much sense that the Lions would want him back after trading him last offeason. While it’s true Matt Millen is the one who dealt him to Cleveland, current GM Martin Mayhew worked under Millen last year and no doubt had a hand in trading Rogers. So outside of adding a talented player to their defensive line, why would the Lions want him back? It’s not like he endeared himself to many people in Detroit with his lazy work ethic and ho-hum demeanor.

I would file this away in the rumor file for now, but I thought it was an interesting rumor so I figured I would post something on it.

Even though he stated at one point this offseason that he would like the Browns to release him, nose tackle Shaun Rogers reported to Cleveland’s workout program after skipping the first week of conditioning.

Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers is participating in the Browns off-season program this week after skipping last week’s opening sessions while he resolved his differences with coach Eric Mangini.

Rogers is seen shaking hands with another teammate before starting his workout. The video comes a day after Browns General Manager George Kokinis said at the NFL owner’s meetings that Rogers and Mangini had a “good conversation.” He also said, “The communication is ongoing now and I think that’s being cleaned up.”

Kokinis said Rogers intended to fulfill “his contractual obligations,” and that “whatever weight” he wanted to play at was fine with Kokinis because he dominated last season.

Rogers, who made his third Pro Bowl last season, had been miffed about two perceived snubs by Mangini and a mandate to show up for the off-season program in shape. He asked the Browns to release him and not pay him his $6 million bonus due last week, but the Browns made it clear they had no intentions of doing so. Apparently, the matter has been resolved or is well on its way to being settled.

This is real good news for the Browns and it looks like a potential disaster has been avoided (at least for now). Rogers was an absolute stud last year and could do very well in Mangini’s 3-4 defense. Mangini needs him on the field and so do the Browns.

Here’s an interesting rumor about Brady Quinn and the Browns:

The Sports Guy remains atop my rotation. I was listening on the way home last night, and surprisingly found a Rotoworld blurb when listening to Mike Lombardi talk Brady Quinn.

“I’m just hearing things out of Cleveland that don’t make me feel Brady Quinn is part of their future. … (Quinn’s) support has left the building. We used to call it sponsorship at the Raiders. When your sponsorship goes, you aren’t the same player.”

Quinn’s “sponsorship” was given out by former GM Phil Savage, and he’s long gone. We’ve documented that Lombardi isn’t a huge fan of Quinn recently, saying he lacked accuracy. That’s an opinion that doesn’t really matter. It matters if the Browns agree with him. It’s looking more like they do.

And you thought Eric Mangini was unpopular in Cleveland now. Wait until he trades boy wonder!

Obviously this is all just speculation, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Mangini is already in a rift with defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and it’s clear that he’s not playing favorites. So there’s no reason to believe that Quinn will be guaranteed a starting job and if Mangini feels that he isn’t the Browns’ future, then there would be no stopping him pursuing one of his own guys.

Boy, the Mangini era in Cleveland has really started off with a bang!