DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Antonio Callaway suspended four games for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy

The announcers said that in that situation, you do not switch the ball to the other arm, as that makes it vulnerable. What you should so is cover the ball with both arms and try to run through the tackle.

That drop was something I took notice. For the first time in my life I used the term. "Bad Hyman!"

Yeah, as I said, I think he thought he was being smart. Turned out, he wasn't. Don't think it will affect his status either way. He was likely headed out anyway. Hopefully he makes the practice squad.

In regards to the old days of football - I remember fondly some of the players from a few of those 70's teams (dirty, unapologetic, out to humiliate and hurt, often drunk or stoned or "pepped" up, etc). This is when I was going to games with Dad.

A gone era. Maybe for the best, and maybe I shouldn't remember it fondly, but, man, what they used to get away with back then!

Callaway isnt going anywhere. This isnt a Josh Gordon situation. Yet. If he becomes a repeat offender then he would get the boot. But this is his first offense and we are deep. Not that big of a deal.

I know it's MKC but it seems to have the most recent information.

Freddie Kitchens: Antonio Callaway ‘is a great kid’ but Browns won’t ‘put up with’ indiscretions

Updated Aug 9, 9:23 PM; Posted Aug 9, 7:40 PM

Freddie Kitchens on Antonio Callaway’s suspension for drug abuse

By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio — Freddie Kitchens likes Antonio Callaway as a person, but laid down the law Friday on what he must do to be a part of the Browns in the wake of his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

"We're not willing to put up with it, okay?’’ Kitchens said of Callaway’s misstep. “When you start talking in terms of that, the person that it's affected has to be willing to commit to doing what's right. So if he's willing to commit to doing what's right, then we're willing to support him in every way that we can, and that's what we're going to do until he proves us wrong.’’

Kitchens and Browns GM John Dorsey, who took a chance on Callaway in the fourth round out of Florida last year despite being suspended his final season for a credit card scam and a failed drug test at the NFL combine, sat down with Callaway and spelled it all out. He’s already broken his promise to Dorsey not to let him down, and now he has very little margin for error.

Callaway was already in Stage Two of the NFL’s substance abuse program, and if this suspension was his second misstep in Stage Two, he’s on to Stage Three where the stakes are much higher. A first transgression in Stage Three results in 10 games for marijuana and banishment from the league for at least a year for other banned substances.

“He knows what he has to do, so we’ll evaluate the situation as it goes forward,’’ said Kitchens. “But, yeah, if you talk about my relationship with Antonio, I'd say, 'Yes, I like the kid.' I think he's a good person. Sometimes people lump these sort of things into being a bad person. This is a great kid now. So we're going to support him until he proves us otherwise. He knows what he has to do, though."

In a statement released by the NFL, Dorsey acknowledged ’we’re disappointed in Antonio. He understands our expectations of him. We will continue to support him as long as he remains committed to taking advantage of the resources made available to him by our club and the league to help him become the best version of himself as a person first and foremost.”

Kitchens didn’t sound 100% convinced Callaway, who suffered a high ankle sprain during Thursday night’s 30-10 victory over the Redskins, will do his part.

“Hopefully, he does it,’’ he said. “Hopefully, he’s committed enough to do it.”

As for his level of concern that Callaway will mess up again, Kitchens said, “I’m not concerned. I’m about moving forward from here.’’

Kitchens wouldn’t say if the Browns knew the suspension was looming and if that’s why Callaway had been demoted to second-team offense. Even when Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry have rested, Callaway couldn’t crack the first team.

“That’s probably not for me to discuss,’’ said Kitchens.

“He has been working his tail off. He has gotten in shape. He has been doing better from a mental area standpoint, and he continues to work every day.”

He said Callaway “understands the significance of this, and he’s going to work to make things right.”

He’s not at liberty to discuss what Callaway did to get suspended or when it happened. Callaway was pulled over by the Strongsville police last season and was found to have a small amount of marijuana under the passenger seat of the car, but charges were dismissed in February.

“All those are things that I can’t speak on,’’ said Kitchens.

Callaway’s suspension came a day after the Browns traded Duke Johnson to the Texans for a fourth-round pick that can improve to a third. It marked the first round of adversity for Kitchens’ team.

“Anytime anything happens out of the norm could be viewed as adversity,’’ said Kitchens. “It is only adversity if you let it affect you. But I fully expect us to handle it very well. That's what we've been preparing to do.

“I’ve said from the beginning I can’t wait to see what kind of team we have when adversity hits because that’s going to let you look into the future and see what you’ve got. So we’ll see how we respond.”

Has he already seen the players pull together?

“I think I know how they feel about me and the staff, and I think that they know how we feel about them,’’ he said. “Now, we need to get them to feel that way towards each other and then we’ll have something. Not until then.”

Callaway was absent from the practice field Friday, but because of the high ankle sprain suffered in the game.

“To his credit, he played through it the rest of the first half, and it really swelled up on him at halftime,’’ he said. “It was [when he was] tangled up with the safety down the field.

He said he doesn’t know if Callaway will miss the rest of the preseason, but it seems likely. With Damion Ratley still sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Browns will be on the lookout for receivers.

“I don’t know if you guys believe me or not, but our roster isn’t filled out yet,’’ he said. “We’re continuing to search for guys at all positions. Wide receiver is no different.’’

Link

Also, Calloway was listed as the #1 punt returner. I guess Guiseppi will manage to hang on, which is a good thing IMO.

In any other year this would be crushing.

This year with OD, Jarvis, Hollywood, and maybe now Willies and Strong , not a real big deal.

As for Calloway, he let Browns Fans and Mates down and he let Gator Nation down. We aren't happy Antonio.

If I recall....

Didn't Callaway suffer through playing an entire pre-season game as punishment last year because he lied about an incident?

He did. This is different.

He was a rookie then. Now we have a kid who might be a special returner. We need to give him the reps. Calloways value isn't as a returner. It is as a receiver....if he can still hang on to the job.

Heck, I think Ratley is pretty good. This brings him back in to play. He will heal up soon enough. Calloway might find himself released after the suspension because other guys took his position.

That might be a bit of a stretch, Calloway is way more talented over guys like Ratley, but is a business about production and availability. Calloway being unavailable due to smoking pot is worse than a kid with a pulled hammy.

One you can control. One you can't.

Well...

We should just call the raiders and see if they need a replacement for AB. Sounds like he's not having fun.

IF he becomes a repeat offender? ... he tested positive at the combine ... this is step 2 ...

Couldn’t agree less bone ... i said yesterday one more chance ... if he fails another one were morons if he’s not gonzo ...

His past is FILLED with horrible decisions in every aspect of life ...

Dudes excuse for not raping a girl was he was too stoned to have sex with anyone ... he missed at least one year in college and if he went to real college he’d of been kicked out ...

Just since the combine ...

- failed drug test at the combine ...
- driving w/o a licensee in a car with broken equipment begging to get pulled over i believe ..
- cops find weed in the car to top it off ..
- doesn’t tell the team ...
- reports to camp out of shape ..
- fails another drug test ....

Sorry bone ... we stick with him any longer if he fails another one and we’ll just be asking to be disappointed again ..... I’ll also lose a lot of respect for Freddie .. i think he’s a man of integrity and doesn’t put out idle threats ...

I LOVE KJ but have zero respect for him in that regard ... CHARACTER MEANS NOTHING TO HIM ... he’s proven that time and again ...

I’d give him another chance but I don’t see this turning out well ... we got another 2 cent head on our hands ... and its a shame for his sake .. i’m pulling for the person just like i did with and still do for JG ... he don’t have JG’s physical talent but he’s got tons of it and can do things most in the NFL can’t .. he could be a STUD if he ever gets his head out of his arse ..

I don't know if any of the posts address this or not. First off I don't always remember details of various offenses of players but last year when Breshard Perriman played decent for us and he left for FA I wondered to myself if I would come to regret him leaving if Callaway did not keep on the straight and narrow

Not saying they have equal talent or ability but my fear was we had somewhat position of strength at the time (IIRC this was before the OBJ trade) and if we let BP go and Callaway messed up that changed.

I might be misunderstanding you, but we re-signed Perriman and then we made the OBJ trade right after that. We then agreed to allow Perriman to go somewhere else. I can't even remember where.

I might be wrong, but that is how I remember it.

As soon as we signed OBJ Perriman requested to sign w/TB (who were also interested in him at the end of the season).

I obviously had my timing off. I do remember wishing he had stayed but I guess after years of watching horrid WR play I did not want to give up any player who was effective.

JMHO, we "bought into Gordon's remorse" other poster listed the facts of Callaway- we have an undrafted WR FASTER than Callaway who just returned a punt for TD- he's slighter, but MUCH hungrier, I'd trade Callaway for Big Mac and fries- he can't be trusted.....and put the vertical threat on field to open up the lower stuff....go Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi....GO Browns!!!!

I think John Dorsey is the best GM we have had on this team in possibly our entire history. That being said, he looks weak for back walking on his treat to Calloway, and it sends a bad message to the locker room.

Dorsey is the one that makes roster decisions, not Freddie. You would need to lose the respect for Dorsey if hes still here. If hes still PLAYING, then you would need to lose respect for Freddie.

Dorsey looks bad on this. There's really no two ways around that.

I think Sashi would have stuck to his word.

We have no idea how this will play out. Callaway reported to camp out of shape. I saw with my own eyes that he was thicker around the core, butt and thighs than any other receiver. He was practicing ONLY with the 2s and Stanton (and tbh, Stanton looked terrible both days I watched them and barely got anything to him).

The rise of Strong, Willies and even Montgomery could jeopardize his spot. Ratley, who has been injured may now have his opportunity to step up. Add on top of it the sudden interest in Sheehy and his potential. Yeah, Callaway's assumed secured #4 WR position suddenly looks shaky. I think all of the above guys just got handed a green card to go out and prove they deserve to be here AND could make things difficult for Dorsey and his coaches. So, let's see how this all plays out before we speculate.

This isn't a Sashi thread even if some want it to turn in to such.

I understand the position on Calloway, and he still may get cut.

I don't get the Signing of Geathers.

Better you said that than me.

Maybe, maybe not. Vers was the one who started talking about Sashi.

It goes to both sides.

What happens to Callaway is up to Callaway. There is this young guy named Sheehy-Guiseppe who is willing to seemingly work himself to death for a roster spot so Mr. Callaway needs to straighten up and fly right.

If we need a return man as much as we need depth at WR then this might be a self correcting problem. I'm not saying dump Callaway because he's decent enough receiver to maybe put up with the headaches but the team really doesn't need to bend over backwards for him.

This has been the best Training Camp period I can remember in a long long time.

Go root for the Wizards.

You're the only one who got it.

I actually thought you'd be mad. Kudos.

This is NOT related to the traffic stop and possession incident from last year.

This is a new and separate issue.

Yeah... getting caught at the combine is next level stupid.

Release him now or release him later, it seems.

I agree Dorsye is walking back his threat to AC.

IDK why you brought up Sashi. He is not the GM and his opinion or what he would/wouldn't do does not matter.

When you take players who have had troubles in the past, in college, or since... these things are going to happen. You aren't going to reform them all.

Freddie put his name on it this time ... if he and KJ aren’t on the same page Freddie shouldn’t have drawn the line he did ...

He wouldn’t be #4 if not for this ...

Him and Higgs have different skill sets ... he’s way more explosive and can do things most can’t ... i’d say he’d get more reps than Higgs prolly not many more but more none the less ...

Another 2 cent head ...

Were gonna lose some with KJ’s strategy of drafting “bad boys” ... then there’s gonna be whats been a grand slam SO FAR with Hill ...

.

I don't remember Freddie drawing the line, Diam. IT was John that drew the line on Hard Knocks - and then has backtracked that line. Not Freddie.