May 2010 - Cleveland Browns Wiretap
Browns May Use Cribbs, Wallace In Wildcat
The Browns are talking about possibly using Josh Cribbs and Seneca Wallace in the Wildcat in 2010.
Cribbs is a more likely possibility. The Cleveland Plain Dealer points out that Wallace is the team's backup quarterback and using him in the formation may be too risky.
Browns Will Spend Time Looking At QBs
The Browns will spend time evaluating quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame leading up to next month's NFL Draft.
Cleveland will either visit Bradford and Clausen or have the quarterbacks come to them.
The Browns have the No. 7 overall pick in the draft, and Browns president Mike Holmgren has said he will consider taking a quarterback with that pick -- or trading up for one.
Cardinals Were Also Interested In Wimbley
The Arizona Cardinals were among the teams interested in trading for former Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley before they dealt him to Oakland. The big holdup with them, like other teams, was Wimbley's contract. Wimbley has voided the final year of his deal through performance incentives.
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt did not want to give up a high draft pick for Wimbley without a longer-term deal in place.
The Cardinals eventually signed Joey Porter.
Delhomme Joined Browns For Chance To Start
Jake Delhomme says that he joined the Browns because they'll give him a chance to start this season.
"I had to decide if I wanted to still try to compete or if I wanted to hold a clipboard," Delhomme said on Wednesday. "I just wasn't ready for that."
Delhomme's main competition will be Seneca Wallace, whom the Browns acquired in a trade with Seattle.
Source: Derek Anderson Headed To Arizona
The Cardinals and former Browns quarterback Derek Anderson have agreed to a two-year deal worth $7.25M, a source told ESPN.com Wednesday.
The source said the deal includes $3.25M guaranteed, and with incentives, would max out at $18.25M.
Anderson would compete with current quarterback Matt Leinart for the starting job.
Cardinals Sign Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson has agreed to terms with the Cardinals, according to a league source.
The move makes sense for the Cardinals, who had been in discussions with both Anderson and restricted free-agent QB Charlie Whitehurst as options to compete with ?starter? Matt Leinart.
Holmgren: Delhomme Is 'Leader' He Wanted
Browns general manager Mike Holmgren is very pleased to have signed veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme.
"My own belief is this team needs an aging veteran," Holmgren said. "They need a guy that is going to grab everybody by the throat and say, 'Follow me through that door.' I don't look at him as an aging veteran, I look at him as the leader I wanted."
The Browns completed a two-year contract with Delhomme on Monday despite his eight touchdowns and 18 interceptions last season with the Panthers.
Ridson's $.05 For St. Patrick?s Day (Quinn, LT, Wimbley, Carr)
It?s appropriate that St. Patrick?s Day falls this week, as one of the most prominent ?Irish? Americans is prominently in the NFL news.
$.01--The Browns finally ended the Brady Quinn experience by trading him to Denver on Sunday. It?s a stunning fall for the local golden boy, a Dublin native and lifelong Browns fan chosen in the first round three years ago to help transform a hapless franchise. In that draft, former GM Phil Savage traded a 2nd round pick and the following year?s 1st rounder to rescue Quinn much later in the 1st round than anyone (certainly Quinn himself!) expected.
That wait appears validated by Quinn?s largely disappointing career thus far. Denver gave up just a 6th round pick, a backup RB (Peyton Hillis, who has functional value for Cleveland) and a late-round future pick for the former Notre Dame quarterback. To put it another way, the Browns essentially chose Seattle?s long-time backup QB, Seneca Wallace, and an aging vet coming off one of the most miserable QB seasons in memory, Jake Delhomme, over the young, able-bodied Quinn.
So what happened? The short answer is that a prolonged holdout ruined his standing with his new teammates and Quinn never recovered. He just didn?t click with his teammates, and he certainly didn?t click with Eric Mangini. It didn?t help that he couldn?t stay healthy, but over the years several Browns have taken quiet snipes at Quinn?s self-absorbed persona, and he rarely socialized with any teammates.
And there is a huge lesson there for the teams about to draft the more prominent quarterbacks, and those quarterbacks themselves too. All the physical ability in the world doesn?t mean much if the QB doesn?t fit in well or possess innate natural leadership, nor enjoy the process of being the face of the franchise. Quinn failed in Cleveland in those aspects, and that long rookie holdout lies at the root. It didn?t help that the on-field performance was shaky, but worse throwers have been given much more rope because of their leadership and intangibles.
$.02--Cleveland also made the news by signing Jake Delhomme, the deposed Panthers starter, and dealing OLB Kam Wimbley to the Raiders for a 3rd round pick and signing free agent TE Ben Watson and LB Scott Fujita. In case anyone still needed to receive the message, this is Mike Holmgren?s team now.
Wimbley?s departure caught many by surprise, as the former 1st rounder played reasonably well last season. But one Browns coach told me last summer that Wimbley wasn?t long for Cleveland, and here?s why: Joe Thomas. This coach said that the Browns drafting Thomas effectively ruined Wimbley?s Browns career. After a strong rookie season where he notched 11 sacks, Wimbley returned to camp and found Thomas in his way at left tackle. Wimbley couldn?t beat Thomas in practice and it ?ruined his confidence?. Now he gets a chance to resurrect his career, and his confidence, in Oakland, which doesn?t have anything close to a Joe Thomas on its roster. I like the deal for both teams, because I do think Wimbley will help Oakland more at DE than anything they could get in the third round this year, and the Browns acquire another useful pick that will help remake the team in Holmgren?s image. The Delhomme signing, on the other hand, strikes me as a clear sign that Cleveland is ready to bring in a new, young QB in the draft.
$.03--Another former star changing locations is LaDanian Tomlinson heading across the country to the New York Jets. The Chargers legend is hoping to turn back the clock and simultaneously cap off his Hall of Fame career with a Super Bowl trip. He chose wisely, as the Jets feature the best offensive line in the league and won?t ask him to carry the ball more than a handful of times per game. His receiving skills and leadership skills will both be great assets in New York.
Having said that, I think Jets fans really need to temper the expectations for LT. The physical skills that made him the best back of the last decade are all but gone. No longer does his jump cut make anyone miss, and his burst out of cuts is no longer special. I don?t blame LT for trying to hold onto his Super Bowl dreams, but the body just can?t cash the checks his reputation is apparently still writing. The Jets had better hope Leon Washington makes a full recovery, because LT cannot fill his shoes anymore.
$.04--San Francisco jumped on the QB carousel, importing former Giant and Texan David Carr and dealing erstwhile starter Shaun Hill to the Lions for a 7th round pick. That leaves the Niners with two former #1 overall picks in Carr and Alex Smith, neither of whom have come anywhere close to meeting those expectations. Still, I like this move for the team but moreso what it signals to the rest of the team. Carr is poised for a Jim Plunkett-like second act to his career, and he should eventually beat out the shaky Smith for the starting gig. Even though he flopped miserably in Carolina when given a similar chance, I think Carr will rise to the occasion here and become the leader and thrower that the Niners sorely need to make the jump from sustained mediocrity to legit playoff aspirant.
I also like the Hill acquisition for the Lions, who were looking for a better veteran backup than Daunte Culpepper (still unsigned, and for good reason). With Matt Stafford firmly entrenched as The Man in Detroit (note I typed that as Detriot three times, hmm...), Hill won?t have to wonder about his role and can focus on prepping both himself and Stafford. It?s a low-cost investment by the Lions to get a proven winner and team player as the backup QB, even though I would have preferred Kerry Collins.
$.05--Moving down a level, the Oregon program continues to make news for all the wrong reasons. The school that gave us the ugly Legarrette Blount incident goes over the top in surpassing that institutional embarrassment with the arrest of starting QB and Heisman candidate Jeremiah Masoli for stealing from a campus fraternity. This comes on the heels of the starting kicker being knocked unconscious in a brawl that he started by fighting with a woman, and starting RB LaMichael James pleading guilty to strangling his girlfriend.
Sadly, those arrests and guilty pleas don?t even represent half of the Ducks that have faced discipline, either internally or in the legal system. If this doesn?t scream ?lack of institutional control? then perhaps the NCAA needs to revisit the parameters for such charges. Coach Chip Kelly needs to take a long hard look at the monster he has inherited (he?s entering just his second year) and make a difficult choice: either clean house and start from scratch with more deserving, law-respecting student athletes, or continue to feed the culture of misogyny, lawlessness, and thuggery that has brought lots of success at the expense of dignity and the reputation of the school. If he doesn?t choose the latter quickly, he justifiably might not have a program to coach anymore.
Coming later this week: The ?What I Would Do? mock draft.
Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com
Broncos Acquire Brady Quinn
The Browns traded Brady Quinn to the Broncos on Sunday.
The Browns received RB Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a condition pick in 2012 in return for the 2007 first-round pick.
"I appreciate everything Brady did for us last year and in his three seasons with the Cleveland Browns," Browns coach Eric Mangini said. "He is professional in the way he goes about doing his job and worked extremely hard at every aspect of his game. I wish him the best of success in Denver."
Source: Panthers Aren't Pursuing Quinn
The Panthers are not actively pursuing Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, a league source told the Charlotte Observer.
Cleveland is expected to try to trade Quinn now that former Carolina starter Jake Delhomme has signed.
Browns, Delhomme Reach Two-Year Deal
Jake Delhomme might spell the end for Brady Quinn in Cleveland.
Browns Won't Sign Justin Fargas
Justin Fargas isn't going to land in Cleveland or Philadelphia.
Holmgren: Quinn's Future 'Depends' On Browns' Moves
Brady Quinn certainly isn't guaranteed safety in Cleveland.
Browns Give Watson $12M Deal
Ben Watson was down to the Browns and Seahawks.
Anderson Regrets Criticizing Fans
Derek Anderson has issued an apology.
Sources: Browns Shopping Quinn
Cleveland has put Brady Quinn on the block.
Delhomme To Visit Cleveland
The Browns are looking at Jake Delhomme.
Anderson: Browns Fans Don't Deserve A Winner
Derek Anderson was cheered by fans when he injured his knee in 2008.
Browns Release Derek Anderson
The Browns have finally parted ways with Derek Anderson.
Browns Acquire Wallace From Seahawks
Mike Holmgren has already acquired one of his former players.
Fujita, Pashos Sign With Browns
The Browns have added depth with Scott Fujita and Tony Pashos.
Anderson An Option For Arizona
Derek Anderson is expected to be released by the Browns soon.
Browns, Cribbs Agree To Restructured Deal
The Browns have redone the final three years of Cribbs' contract.
Browns More Likely To Find QB Via Trade
Matt Hasselbeck, Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb are trade candidates for Cleveland.
Thomas Jones Could Land With Browns, Chargers, Texans, Seahawks
The Browns, Seahawks, Chargers and Texans could target Thomas Jones.