Josh Cribbs' Contract Saga: ESPN Recap and Streamlined Front Office--Good Signs

After a full week of craziness last week regarding Cleveland Browns' Pro Bowl returner Josh Cribbs and his contract status, this week proved to be pretty silent (not for this journalist who just came back from Las Vegas) by comparison to last week for Cribbs and his representatives since he was able to speak his mind on ESPN's First Take on Monday.

ESPN First Take Quick Recap

With players like the Chargers' Darren Sproles who made $6.6 million in 2009 (he was franchise tagged though), the Texans' Andre Davis who made $4.3 million, the Bills' Roscoe Parrish who made $3.2 million, and the Dolphins' Ted Ginn, Jr. who made $667 thousand all in 2009, Cribbs and his agents were insulted at the Browns' first offer of $1.4 million per year.

When asked on First Take what number he has in mind, Cribbs said "I don't want to put a number on it, but I want fair market value."

Then when asked about his feelings on Browns president Mike Holmgren Cribbs said, "He is a great football mind."

"I assume he is part of the offer, but he might not know [what was offered] and it went under the radar and we haven't gotten that phone call, but I will stay positive."

"I want to tell Browns fans that I will strive and do everything I can to stay in a Browns uniform."

Finally when asked his thoughts on head coach Eric Mangini, Cribbs said, "He is a great coach and once he got us over the hump and beat Pittsburgh, he brought in players who wanted to win, whether it was from the practice squad or off the street."

Cirbbs was very professional during the interview and despite the worries that he may say something to burn bridges between him and the Browns, he said all the right things and looks like a player who still has optimism toward staying with the Browns in 2010 and beyond.

New and Improved Streamlined Front Office

Now that the Browns and Holmgren have their new general manager in Tom Heckert, this week proved to be one of gutting the front office and streamlining it to better suit both Holmgren and Heckert.

Heckert's first moves were to to fire all four members of the pro personnel department and two assistant trainers.

The firings continued on Friday when former team president Mike Keenan and Dawn Aponte, who oversaw all player contracts and helped with the salary cap, both got the axe.

Keenan was demoted to chief financial officer once the announcement of Holmgren as president was made and Aponte, a rare female in the heavily dominated male front office positions in the NFL, was a rising star in the NFL executive circle.

Coincidentally, Aponte was the person who offered Cribbs the $1.4 million increase on his current contract, and that "insult" of an offer might have been her downfall with the Browns, since she was successfully able to anger Cribbs and his agents.

Also, leading to the firing of both Keenan and Aponte was the addition of Bryan Wiedmeier, who came from the Dolphins, as the executive vice president of business administration on Monday.

Whether or not the firing of Aponte is due to the terribly low offer that she gave Cribbs remains to be seen, but the timing of everything makes you wonder if there is a connection.

Both Cribbs and Browns fans can look at these changes as a move in the right direction to get him under a contract, or as Cribbs said on First Take "fair market value."

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper)