General

The Browns Undervalue Joshua Cribbs at Their Peril

Jan 7, 2010, 7:35 PM UTC

â†µâ†µOther than some flashes of potential out of rookie receiver Mohamed Massoquoi and running back Jerome Harrison, there’s not a lot about the Cleveland Browns offense that suggests they’re going to be a force in the NFL anytime soon. Therefore, you would figure with returner and Wildcat formation threat Joshua Cribbs, the Browns would break the bank to try to keep their most versatile and talented player, who, by the way, was just named to his second Pro Bowl, satisfied.â†µ

â†µâ†µOr even offer him market value for his services.â†µ

â†µâ†µInstead, the Browns, who are currently paying Cribbs roughly $1 million per year on an extension through 2012, offered to bump his base pay up to $1.4 million, significantly less than the $2.8 to $3.2 million where other GMs expected the team would start negotiations. It’s also well less than other players of comparable skills at his position (the Texans’ Andre Davis earns $4.2 million and the Bills’ Roscoe Parrish gets $3.2 per year). â†µ

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â†µCribbs and his agent, who claim that the ownership told them as far back as December 2008 that it was a team priority to rework their deal, are now vowing that the man who holds the NFL career record for kicks returned for touchdowns has played his final game as a Brown, which already marks the first player crisis in Mike Holmgren's tenure as general manager.â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Tuesday, Holmgren said “we have made an effort. We’ll continue to make an effort to handle Josh’s situation. I want Josh here.” He added that it’s unprecedented to re-do a deal with three years remaining on it, but that “a player should get what he deserves.”â†µâ†µâ†µWhile it’s true that the Browns have Cribbs under contract for the next three years, it wouldn’t be wise for the team to alienate its Most Valuable Player within the first few weeks of the offseason, especially when meeting his demands would come at a relatively low cost compared to the amount of money the team has tied up in its rotating quarterback duo of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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