Joshua Cribbs Proves He Means Business

First of all, I was right.

I said it right here on Tuesday.  These guys sacrifice their bodies and have a narrow window of opportunity to get paid for it. So it is with great pleasure I give to you today’s quote from Joshua Cribbs sent via press release:

“I humbly and respectfully come to Browns fans and the Browns letting all know that I have given my all to this team, on and off the field for four complete years selflessly without regard to myself and my own family."

The key to that section is his statement “selflessly without regard to myself and my own family.” So now, this is a guy looking out for No. 1.

To refresh everyone’s memory, Cribbs ambushed the media on Monday by stating he was promised a new contract this year—and if no progress is made, he wants to be traded.

Cribbs is scheduled to make $620,000, $635,000, $650,000 and $790,000, sequentially, for the next four seasons. Prior to his dismissal, former general manager Phil Savage promised to renegotiate the contract, since Cribbs had clearly outperformed it.

The new front office of general manager George Kokinis and head coach Eric Mangini look like they are not responding to Cribbs in the way he had hoped.

Whether or not they respond, Cribbs’ demands also have sparked an opposing view—that he’s being selfish, and since he signed the contract, he really just needs to show up and fulfill the terms of the original agreement.

To those people, I offer this section of Cribbs’ statement:

"Contracts are one-sided in favor of the team, yet we as players are told to honor our contracts without the team honoring them. We are not doctors and lawyers, we don't get paid for 25 years of work. If we are lucky, we get 10 years at best to make all the money we can to last the rest of our life."

Touché, Cribbs. It’s hard to argue with that statement.

Football is a rough sport, and many very talented athletes have had promising careers cut short by brutal injuries sustained on the playing field or in practice.

For those with short-term memory problems, I will remind you star center LeCharles Bentley ended his career with Cleveland on his first snap during the first day of training camp prior to the 2007 season after suffering a freak knee injury.

It was a non-contact drill, but the rigors of training and his prior years of physical punishment in the league no doubt contributed to the failure of his knee.

Cribbs is well aware of the Bentley situation, having been with the team at the time of the injury as well as when Bentley was released prior to last season. Cribbs is invoking the “business” aspect of his career, whether the powers that be like it or not.

“This is not personal, but I have to be a man and take care of my family for not just a year or two, but for as long as I am walking this earth.

"I want nothing more but to wear the Browns’ logo on my chest until my career has come to an end, and I am deeply disappointed that the team I put my hard work, blood, sweat, and tears in will just write me off as though I am collateral damage."

Linebacker Shaun Rogers piped up about a new contract and trade demands a few months ago. Neither of those things happened, and Rogers now says everything has been resolved. So there is precedent from this regime for not taking kindly to being bullied through the press.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mangini revealed he had spoken directly to Cribbs but stated that contract matters were private. However, he did point out that the team is holding mini-camp—and, while it may be voluntary, all reps are counted. If you’re not there, you aren’t taking reps.

It also has been pointed out that discarding Cribbs could scare off potential free agents down the road, who might become wary of a “hostile” front office.  To that argument, I say, “Feh!”

If you’re a losing team, free agents will take that into consideration. If you’ve won three Super Bowls in the last decade, well, it’s probably not that big of a deal to a player signing a two or three-year contract. Just look at the New England Patriots’ track record with free agent signings.

“The Browns are losers!” you scream at me.  And I will agree for now.

But this front office will not. "New coach, new year, new team," they will say. 

Come this time next year, if the record has improved enough, no one will remember the contractual disputes. In the end, all the fans and players remember are the victories and the championships.