After the Super Bowl, Commissioner Roger Goodell will reinstate Browns receiver Donte Stallworth.
And after Goodell reinstates Stallworth, the Browns will cut him, according to Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Stallworth was suspended for the entire season after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter. The veteran wideout struck and killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes the morning after earning a $4.5 million roster bonus in March 2009.
Grossi points out that Stallworth is due to receive a $1 million roster bonus on March 18, 2010, under the terms of his existing contract. It’s our understanding, however, that a one-year suspension tolls the player’s contract, meaning that Stallworth’s 2009 terms would apply in 2010, and that any offseason bonuses due in 2010 would be due in 2011.
Either way, it won’t matter if the Browns cut Stallworth.
They also could put Stallworth on the trading block, but it’s unlikely that anyone would want his contract. The Browns gave him big money in 2008 even though he has never racked up more than 950 receiving yards in a single season, and he never has caught more than seven touchdown passes.