Browns wide receiver and return man Josh Cribbs says he’s finished in Cleveland.
“I said good-bye to some people on the medical staff, some of the equipment guys and the coaches,’' Cribbs told the Cleveland Plain Dealer today. “I wished the coaches luck and told them I hoped they kept their job. But it absolutely felt like the last time I’d be setting foot inside the building. I feel like it’s over for me in Cleveland.’'
Cribbs, who previously said he doesn’t think he fits in new front office boss Mike Holmgren’s plans, said he expects Holmgren to trade him during the off-season.
“There’s no way I’ll play another down for the Browns without the new contract,’' he said. “They won’t let me sit, because I have value. They’d be forced to trade me.’'
Cribbs said Holmgren made the right call in retaining Browns coach Eric Mangini, but he thinks Holmgren has insulted him by giving him a $1.4 million a year offer that suggests the Browns see him as strictly a special teams player, and not a threat on offense.
“I’m not just insulted by the number, but by the fact they consider me just a kick returner,” Cribbs said. “I’m so much more than that. . . . I’m shocked they make me an offer like that after all I’ve done for this team.”
In addition to being a Pro Bowl returner, Cribbs caught 20 passes for 135 yards and ran 55 times for 381 yards this season.