While it's been three years since Joshua Cribbs returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the Cleveland Browns, the impending free agent has drawn plenty of interest thus far, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. On Saturday, Cabot tweeted that the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals have all shown interest in the two-time Pro Bowl returner.
Josh Cribbs free agent rumors: Giants, 49ers, Cowboys, Patriots, Cardinals show interest
Cribbs didn’t have a return touchdown in 2012, but had a resurgent year in kick-return yardage.
Larry French
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Cribbs, 29, became one of 15 players to return three kickoffs for touchdowns in a single season when he had a tremendous year in 2009. That performance earned a three-year deal worth $20 million from the Browns. However, his production dropped off significantly in 2010 and his average kick return dropped to a very pedestrian 20.4 yards.
In 2012, Cribbs made much less of an impact in the Browns' offense after the emergence of Josh Gordon, and instead returned his focus to the return game. While he didn't find the end zone, his average returned to 27.4 yards, just a fraction behind the 27.5-yard average during his first-team All-Pro season in 2009.
Of the teams that have shown interest in Cribbs during the pre-free agency period, the Cowboys were the worst at kick returns, finishing the season in 29th with a 20.6 yards per return average.
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