Braylon Edwards May Have Punched His Ticket Out Of Cleveland

If Braylon Edwards’ on-the-field performance wasn’t bad enough, the alleged actions of the Browns wide receiver early Monday morning could ultimately seal his fate with the Cleveland Browns.

Reports said that Edwards was "outside a Cleveland nightclub with some teammates when he got into an altercation with Edward Givens, a club promoter."

Givens has a good friend who resides in Cleveland that some fans may know—LeBron James.

According to Yahoo Sports, James said, “I’ve never crossed paths with Braylon before, but it seems like there’s a little jealousy going on with Braylon and me and my friends. I don’t know why, I’ve never said anything to Braylon at all.”

I am going to give Edwards the benefit of the doubt and assume Givens is trying to make some money off Edwards in a civil case. Yahoo Sports reported that Givens filed a police report where he accused an "unidentified man of punching him in the face following an argument at approximately 2:30 a.m."

Mangini has instilled a new culture in Cleveland where he wants his players to be accountable for their actions on and off the field. This latest allegation will do nothing to help Edwards’ relationship with his new head coach.

With the exception of 2007, Edwards’ tenure with the Browns has been an absolute disaster.

His rookie season in 2005 he tore his ACL and missed the last month or so of the season.

In 2006 he struggled with Charlie Frye at the helm, but admitted that he wasn’t 100 percent the entire season. He was seen on television in an altercation with Frye on the sidelines, where he was restrained by Jamal Lewis.

In 2008, he led the NFL in drops and became the central topic in numerous trade rumors in the offseason.

He is currently in the final year of his contract. This report, along with his performance on the field so far, will certainly hurt his chances of receiving an extension from the Browns after the season.

This past Sunday, he snapped his 62-game catch streak, dropped a pass, and was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi had his coming-out party on Sunday, grabbing eight passes for 148 yards. The rookie out of Georgia appears to have earned a starting job for the distant future with Derek Anderson under center.

If fellow rookie Brian Robiskie is ever able to make it onto the field and produce, Browns fans could be getting a glimpse of the team’s future starting wide receivers in 2010.

For right now, Edwards is in the clear until proven otherwise.