Now that Tom Heckert has become the G.M. of the Cleveland Browns, agent J.R. Rickert is optimistic that the team finally will “pay the man” named Josh Cribbs.
“Now that Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert are running things,” Rickert said via Twitter today, “this will get worked out!“
But will it? With Holmgren in the building, the team made the same offer that had been extended in early December before Holmgren was hired. And the number — roughly $1.4 million per year — has prompted Cribbs to complain loudly.
Now that Heckert has arrived, the Big Show is still running the operation. So it remains an uphill battle for Cribbs and company to get the kind of cash for which Rickert and Peter Schaffer are angling.
And it appears that the folks who control the flow of the dollars don’t share the opinion of Cribbs that Hall of Famer Jim Brown, a member of the franchise’s senior management team, expressed last month: “He is a spiritual force. What he does is so pure, it’s
running the ball, then going down to make a tackle. It’s playing the game
with the right attitude, giving himself all the way.”
The assessment is accurate. For whatever reason, however, the Browns haven’t decided to rip up the final three years of a below-market deal. Even if they simply believe that, when push comes to shove, Cribbs will play football to the best of his ability, other players in the locker room (and not yet in the locker room) eventually could be influenced by the manner in which Cribbs is being treated.
You have to think of this as an NFL front office guy. The Browns are not going to win the Super Bowl in 2010. There will be no 2011 season. So Cribbs will be 29 going on 30 for the 2012 season, if there is one. A year off at 29 might as well be three years off.
Basically, Cribbs has one more good year left then we’re done with him. I’d trade him for 2012 draft picks now.
JR Rickert is an idiot and that doesn’t help Cribbs.
now that he has a G.M. Holmgren and Heckert will play hero and get this done. The first contract was just a ploy to make Holm-ert more endeering to the fans in the long run.
Cribbs will get paid.
Perhaps Cribbs’ agents would be better served in waiting until the Browns get through some important front office/coaching decisions before having their client play Chicken Little and say “the sky is falling” on every ESPN show.
Their maybe a players strike this year. Why pay a redo Cribss contract if he’s not going to play. If their is no strike, CRIBBS WILL BE PAID
I like the fact that Cribbs and his agent never bothered to wait for the Browns to hire a GM first before starting their media campaign. Didn’t it ever occur to them the Browns DIDN’T HAVE A GM in place to negotiate????
Why optimism — If Heckert stays on the path that he learned in Philly.. Cribss signed his second deal…if his agent settled.. tough.. ask Sheldon Brown
This is a circus. There’s 8 months until the start of next season, which is why Cribbs and his A-hole agent should have never popped off in the first place.
Everytime Rickert opens his yap (or tweets or whatever), I dislike him even more. He makes comments without thinking.
His current deal paid him a 2 million dollar signing (guaranteed) bonus plus he will make roughly $650k next year. So the Browns basically have offered to double his salary! Not bad. Him and his agent need to just shut up, or he will be shipped out to Philly for Kolb.
People will all agree that one third of the game is Special Teams, BUT, that isnt true. If you look at it in terms of plays per game, you get 80 plays on defense, 80 plays on offense, and 15 plays on special teams (half of those are kick returns).
Are teams really willing to pay a guy 3, 4, 5 million dollars a year, to return 4 kicks per game?
We arnt talking about a running back that carries the ball 20 times, catches another 6 passes out of the back field, we are talking about a guy that touches the ball, only in returns. Sure, he pretends to be a receiver sometimes, but he is just another Deven Hester (however you spell Deven, Devin, Devon….)…….
Cribbs is an awesome football player. No denying that. But come on, he’s a SPECIAL TEAMS/GIMMICK player. He isn’t worth more than $2.5 million
After first I thought Cribbs had a lot of character and was different. Now his true colors show. As a lifelong Browns fan, I’m disappointed in him. His agent has obviously influenced him. For the Browns to double his contract with 3 years left is showing good faith. Cribbs should take it. Otherwise, let him sit out for 3 years and then try to make money from another team. Won’t happen.
Because Rickert is Cribb’s new agent, he gets nothing from the current contract. That’s why he’s got his client on the media tour. It’s all about what he wants to make off the deal. Typical greedy agent!
Browns may let them sit and stew awhile until they are good and ready to deal.
“We arnt talking about a running back that carries the ball 20 times, catches another 6 passes out of the back field, we are talking about a guy that touches the ball, only in returns. Sure, he pretends to be a receiver sometimes, but he is just another Deven Hester (however you spell Deven, Devin, Devon….)…….”
What planet are you living on “Chin”? Cribb plays on the Brown offense as running back and receiver in a variety of play sets, he just doesn’t return kicks. He is better than Hester (who is way overpaid for what he does)!
Andy, I agree. But actually, even if he sits out for 3 years, he is still Brown’s property until he PLAYS for 3 years. So whenever he would come back, he would still have 3 years left. It is played time, not calander time. He has No leverage.
Ok Scorpion, so how many touches per game does “Cribb” get?
I am looking at his stats, and WOW, 20 catches, 1 TD, man, time to break the bank, move over Jerry Rice, you have company……
WOW, 55 runs, for 381 yards, look out Emmitt…..
He completed 1 pass, on 4 attempts, make room Peyton……here comes Cribbs……
He is great return guy, but that is it, a return guy. I am no Hester fan, but….
57 catches, 757 yards, 3 TD
Atleast he produces somewhere other than returns……
thank you florio’s barber for pointing out the signing bonus!that is the one thing that drives me nuts when these babies whine about being underpaid and how contracts are not guaranteed.we know that but your bonus is!so he got 2 million to sign his name and could have broken his leg walking out of the meeting and still got the money.but because he did what he was paid to do he is bitching because he’s “only” making 600 grand on top of that bonus?excuse me while I don’t shed any tears for this millionaire,you signed the deal live with it!and if the browns cave then will it be alright for them to want to renegotiate when you don’t have another carreer year next season?
Cribbs deserves a small raise, but he’s not going to be the only talent on the team next year now that there is a REAL front office with NFL experience.
I think his stock is going to drop somewhat very soon.
Cribbs has more total yards (returns, receptions, rushes) than ANYONE in the league over the last three years. More than AP, more than Chris Johnson, more than anyone.
Chin, you are an obvious moron who does not even watch football. I assume from your username that you are a Stillers fan. He has burned your team more than any. Perhaps you should pay attention. Retard.
This will deter other players from the Browns. It is no secret that the Browns underpay their players; been going on for years.
Are you people serious???? First, the Steelers suck so go make your assumptions somewhere else tdawg….
How do you stop Adrian Peterson? You hope that you can tackle when he gets the ball…..
How do you stop Cris Johnson? Again, you hope you can tackle when he gets the ball?
How do you stop Josh Cribbs? You kick it out of bounds….. He isnt so dangerous anymore is he?
I am not saying Cribbs cant play, he is arguably the best player in football when he has the ball in his hands. But he is only a return man. Return men can be stopped way to easily by not kicking it to them……..
Bill Cowher’s Chin says:
January 12, 2010 10:34 AM
Are teams really willing to pay a guy 3, 4, 5 million dollars a year, to return 4 kicks per game?
We arnt talking about a running back that carries the ball 20 times, catches another 6 passes out of the back field, we are talking about a guy that touches the ball, only in returns.
————————————————
Another person commenting on a team who he apparently doesn’t watch or really pay any attention to.
Btw, since you’re comparing Cribbs to Hester, I thought I just read somewhere that Hester hasn’t returned a kick for a TD for 2 full seasons now. Maybe he should switch salaries with Cribbs…
And did you catch the post after yours that said: “Cribbs has more total yards (returns, receptions, rushes) than ANYONE in the league over the last three years. More than AP, more than Chris Johnson, more than anyone.”?
Yeah, I guess he doesn’t deserve squat for racking up more yards than ANYONE IN THE NFL over the last 3 years.
Thanks for playing (idiot).
You know, you guys have swayed me, I HOPE the Browns make this guy the highest paid player on the team, really, I mean that. Good luck getting a quarterback and a running back, when you are wasting all your money on a return man…..
Also, do you ever think that maybe this is why the Browns arent very good?
Fans praising a player for gaining more yards than anyone else. Dont worry about getting into the end zone or anything, just make sure you get yards……
This past season, Cribbs helped the Browns win games, and kept the Browns in a position to win some of the games the team lost. His value is greater than some of his stats.
Still, I don’t care for the way Cribbs and his agent have approached this. I don’t mind that they don’t like the 1.4 mil offer. But the histrionics, the appearances on ESPN, are costing him good will.
In all their belly-aching and weeping, have Cribbs and his agent even made a demand in response to the Browns’ offer?
Cribbs will be traded for picks, Remember joey galloway? Look at Holmgrens history dealing with these type of situations.
Actually someone here says you negate Cribbs by kicking the ball out of bounds. Hmm. Think about that. Puts the ball on the 40 yard line. Not bad huh? Sometimes you need to look beyond just stats. Numerous times we had the ball in excellent field position because of Cribbs either making a good return or the ball going out of bounds or short so he could not touch it.
Thin a little!
Having said that – his tour to get more money is pathetic.
The guy is special but doesn’t deserve anything beyond an incentive-laden contract. These NonPosition Players are extremely difficult to quantify monetary value and historically they don’t deserve large compensation.
Last week the story was “I’m done with Cleveland, I won’t play here”… This week the story is “Holmgen and Heckert are here, they will pay me”…
Josh… lose the greedy agent… settle for them doubling your salary and have them throw a few incentives in for good measure… by the time you pay your agent… you will be making less than what you started with…
All those years of smokin’ and selling chronic have warped your dreads Man…. DON’T BE STUPID… deal with the folks that got you to the dance and your rewards will come….
tudefit, I agree that giving the Browns the ball at the 40 isnt bad, there are lots of teams, probably all of them, that would want to start at the 40, but your argument is only half of it. I will expand. Half of Cribbs’ yards are on punt returns. You dont get the ball at the 40 if the other team punts the ball out of bounds. Plus, I would rather punt it through the end zone, give them the ball at the 20, than let him return it for a TD. So that takes half of his (more yards than anyone over the last 3 years…..) away from him.
As far as kick offs, has anyone payed attention to the recent trend on kick offs, of kicking it really really high, and having it land around the 25 yard line. The return man cant do anything but fair catch it.
So there you go, now the other half of Cribbs’ yards have been taken away from him……is he still worth the money when he can be so easily removed from the game?
Again, I am not against Cribbs, I said it before, he is possibly the best player in the NFL with the ball in his hands, but I just explained how to keep the ball out of his hands. I have never coached football, at any level, and I was able to figure out how to negate Cribbs’…….
Everyone is so quick to dismiss the ideas of others, that they dont look at the whole picture, there are ways to “not kickoff to him” that dont just give the Browns the ball at the 40…..
I’m curious to see the proposal Cribbs’ agent sent to the Browns.