Before the legal non-tampering tampering period began, Browns receiver Josh Cribbs declared during a radio interview that his agent is “meeting with several different teams” and that "[t]here is a lot of interest” and that "[t]here are already numbers brought to the table” and that "[t]hings are happening” and that “[w]heels are turning behind closed doors.”
It should be no surprise, then, that Cribbs is one of the rare players to whom specific teams are being linked, now that the legal non-tampering tampering period has opened.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, five teams have interest in the receiver/return specialist: the Giants, 49ers, Patriots, Cowboys, and Cardinals.
Typically, a mega-list of interested teams comes from the agent, and not from a poll of the 32 teams. Especially when all 32 teams are running scared under the threat of a tampering investigation if negotiation inadvertently crosses the vague line between talking and agreeing.
After months of leading teams to believe that everything but a signed contract may be procured during the three-day negotiating window, the NFL abruptly warned teams on Friday that, while there can be discussions, there can be no offers and no agreements and no leaks of any agreements.