A week that included plenty of proof of the lingering dysfunction that has plagued the Browns ever since the team returned to the NFL in 1999 ended with tight end Gary Barnidge making a three-year commitment to the franchise.
Appearing on Friday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio, Barnidge explained his decision to sign a three-year extension only four games away from a shot at free agency.
“I want to be here when we turn things around,” Barnidge said. “I know everybody says you’re not having a good year and this stuff, but me as a person I don’t believe you just run away from that and say, ‘Oh, I need to get away from this.’ I want to be here. I want to help turn it around. I want to be a part of the reason why we turn it around and I have total confidence that we can do that.”
Barnidge also explained that he has made a real connection with Cleveland, and that he didn’t want to leave.
“I’m very entrenched in the community here,” Barnidge said. “I do a lot in the community and I just wanted to be here. I feel I’m comfortable here. I enjoy it here and I think we can turn things around. So that’s all a part of it as well.”
How much did a potential coaching change after the current season influence Barnidge’s thinking?
“Honestly, I really didn’t think about that at all, because I have confidence that Jimmy Haslam knows what he’s doing and we’re going to get things going,” Barnidge said. “So you can’t worry about that, because you never know what’s going to happen. If you start worrying about that, thinking about all that stuff, then you’re never going to get anything done.”
The Browns continue to try to get something/anything done on the field. The postseason is out of the question for 2015 (they’ve only made it to the playoffs once since 1999), and the rest of the season will largely entail an assessment of quarterback Johnny Manziel, whose off-field issues have been thoroughly documented.
“I think we’re very supportive of him,” Barnidge said of Manziel. “I think he’ll get everything going, and we have to support him the best we can because that’s all you can do. He’s a part of our team and we’re all about each other. It’s not, we’re never going to turn our back on anybody on our team.”
Barnidge also won’t be turning his back on Manziel during any given play. Barnidge said that, while the game plan is no different with Manziel, his ability to run adds a real wrinkle.
“The play can be extended by another two or three seconds,” Barnidge said. “So that is such a tremendous thing. It makes it harder on the defense as well. So the play is never actually over, and I think that’s the only big difference.”
The Browns, overall, haven’t been that much different this year than they have been in recent years. If anything, they’re already worse than they were in 2014.
But Barnidge, who is having a breakout season after being stuck behind Jordan Cameron in Cleveland and Greg Olsen in Carolina, believes that things will get better.
Eventually, they have to. And the fans who continue to show up each and every week deserve it.