DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Cribbs contract/trade talks

jc Why don't the Browns just throw a 2.5-3mil per, 3yr take it or leave it contract on the table? That would take the legs out of Cribbs argument, get rid of the publicity and put this matter to rest. Every rare time something positive has happened with this team since the return, something like this pops out of the woodwork to make us look foolish in the eyes of the public.

If Cribbs goes on national shows and bad talks the team, he will lose any sympathy I have for him. IMO Josh's agents are making him do this at the worst time. The Browns offered to double his contract, and he calls it "disrespectful", that is BS.

I love what Cribbs does, but he is stepping over the line now. ESPN and the talking heads there are going to use him as a pot stirrer. They are bringing him in to inflate the controversy and show the Browns in a bad light. Guys like Deon Sanders calling to "pay the man" is the kind of thing that jacks me. Over zealous prima donnas that get jobs with ESPN and the NFL network and present themselves as all knowing.

What is happening now with the fans, is that they are starved for a star player. Cribbs is a star, but his value to the team is being way overblown. Sure I believe he deserves a raise, but what he is doing is selfish. He and his agents are presenting him as the only reason the Browns improved at the end of the season. That is BS. He contributes alot, but not as much as people think.

I don't want to see him gone, but he is expendable. The fans have a big emotional tie to him because of a lack of talent everywhere on the team. I hate seeing his agents exploiting him the way they are. They have to know that he is still under contract and has no leverage to force anything.

Gerard Lawson returned kicks in the preseason and did very well almost returning a couple. To think that it is all Cribbs is foolish. He is very good, don't get me wrong, but replaceable. His contributions on offense were good, but very limited. Many act as if the wildcat was the only reason for offensive production. He is not a good receiver.

One thing I would like to note. When Harrison had 286 in a game, many who are pointing out Cribb's wildcat production, came on here and used the arguement that it was due to blocking by Vickers and the line. Yet when Cribbs achieves success behind the same line and Vickers, it is all him. I see a double standard there.

If Cribbs sits out camp, he is a fool. NFL fans have a short memory. Remember that guy Hall a few years back? He was touted as the best return guy ever, now you never hear his name. As much as I want to keep him, if he is traded it will not upset me a bit. I believe that he can be replaced, and will

Take away his returns and look at his offensive production and what persentage of the whole offense it was, and the truth will be evident. To me this is all an attempt by his agents to cash in on his popularity with the fans. Using emotions to get a big payoff is selfish in my opinion. Tryting to paint Holgrem in a bad light, when his reputation is as good as it gets is also foolish.

Cribbs is booked to do a magical mystery tour - Mike n Mike, Sporcenter, 1st n 10 etc. etc. etc. The more he poo's on the Browns' the more he will distance himself from the fans.

We are more than doubling his salary with our FIRST OFFER...but Cribbs and his agents who whether anyone gets it or not has become a PUPPET for his AGENTS!!!

But the Puppet is playing the play of the agents...The Browns offer is an insult and doesn't deserve further negotations.

They were FORCED to go public...but the public is just SPIN not all the facts involved.

What we will find out is Tampering has been involved....maybe we will get a draft pic out of this .

What we will eventually find out is the proposal that they have made.

All we know on what THEY WANT is that they were expecting 2.8 - 3.2 as our starting point and that THEY SAY (if we can believe it ) they would have negotiated with us if we started with 2.5 mil!

But here in lies the TRUTH!!! Its not about what Cribbs will earn...its about what the agents will earn.

How can I say this. Here is my proof. There is a logical solution. Give in with a 100% + raise for 2010 but negotiate for the Browns to Expunge the last two years on the contract for 2011 and 2012. This Truly would be the BEST THING FOR CRIBBS!!! And I think would be doable with our FO.

But here in lies the problem...Its not about SOLUTIONS...its about how much money can these AGENTS make and they virtually would make Zip with this agreement...sure they would reap the rewards of the future contract Cribbs will certainly make in 2011 on with a FA contract or Staying Contract here!

But for Agents its a bird in hand is worth more than 2 in the bush!

Point two - There is a good chance that this 2010 draft will be one of the last with some real MEGA BUCKS in signing bonus and GUARANTEED money for the TOP draft picks in the 2010 draft...IT WAS SOOOOOOOO important not to Cribbs to get this deal done NOW as opposed to March, April, May, July or August!!!

But to the AGENTS to hold of their RESUME and show Look what we did - you should sign up with us as clients!!!! That is why they had to go PUBLIC just 2, 3 days after Holmgren took power.

When the team hasn't even gotten their GM in town yet who will be having a say in this.

When the team has others on their roster who cease to be Browns after March 1st.
Young talent. DQ, Vickers, Harrison, Pool, Roth.

There is no URGENCY for Cribbs, no Urgency for the Browns...but there is URGENCY for Cribbs' AGENTS

Cribbs is being used and not by the Browns.

If this continues...and Cribbs burns Bridges...he's just doing the bidding of EVIL GREEDY PEOPLE!!! and really why the Owners must win any power struggle cause it has nothing to do with OWNERS vs. Players in controlling the NFL...Its about Owners vs AGENTS (scum of the earth) controlling the NFL.

Its killed baseball and it would kill Football.

But Cribbs I got a feeling is going to burn bridges unlike last year.

His agents are DESPERATE and will lead Cribbs down the wrong path.

We will sign Smith from the Jets in FAgency - we will move on and continue our growth. And it just might be 4 years before Cribbs comes out of his self imposed exile. I'm hoping we will get a good draft pick for him.

JMHO...love Cribbs as a Brown but he might be painting himself in a corner and soon we will hear HATRED against the Browns...How much? Will it go beyond Business? I'm prepared to lose Cribbs forever in this all cause of the Evil ones.

Nobody wants him to walk. And I don't think that will ever be the end result. Just saying I'd rather have an 85 Bears defense and a (any year you want) 49er Super Bowl offense, with Cribbs in it, than having him return 5-6 kicks a game. That in and of itself is a horse of a different color.

Big bonus and 2.5 a year, maybe 3. Good enough.

*yawn*

Walk a mile in my shoes ... Cribbs to Master Toad

People don't suddenly become something. He didn't suddenly become greedy or less of a good guy or less of a team player. Keep screaming it at the top of your lungs though. You'll get your share of followers.

This is about fairness. That's all it's ever been about. If you can't see it or refuse to see it ... that's on you.

Well done.

Just because the majority might think a certain way doesn't make it right.

Not if you look at results from the last three U.S. presidential elections.

http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=38f8b9af-7324-4229-b820-8b0bd2f484a5


here is the interview with JC...


LOL for the people crying the world is ending... this will put you in check LOL

it's really not as bad as everyone is trying to make it out to be

I agree with Rishuz. Totally ridiculous this wasn't done long ago.

Mangini is as culpable as anyone here.

HE was the one that wouldn't re-up Cribbs when he got here. The HE was the one that came out and publicly said he wanted to get Cribbs a new deal by the end of the season when he was no longer calling the shots.

Everyone knows what's fair here. Even Toad, who's decrying Cribbs' character, has stated that about 2.5 - 3mil is FAIR for Cribbs, and that's strictly frmo a production standpoint.

While that's what I'd offer him, I'd say he's worth more than that to the team. Nobody has played harder than him since the team came back. You HAVE to reward that in a league full of players motivated by money! What kind of message is that sending to the team, that the hardest-working player, one of the 3 most-impactful players on the team, is getting jerked around? People look to the team captain for a reason. Why do they want to play hard like him if they see no reward for it? Bad for buisness IMO.

The problem is that if ultimately he's "worth" 2.5-3.5 million (I showed in the Stallworth thread that he prob is worth 3-3.5) an initial offer of 1.4 M isn't "jerking him around" at all! Especially considering the flux of our front office right now.

Personally I think Cribbs is a great asset to the team and hope we don't lose him. But I also understand that one guy isn't bigger than the team. If we lose him, we'll move on. I also think (and this is just my opinion and nothing more) that Cribbs really does like Cleveland and really wants to stay here (based on his play and conduct in the past) but the problem is he's getting some REALLY bad advice from his agents and the people around him right now....and the REAL problem is that he's willing to listen to them (thus the 180 shift in attitude and all the public demands garbage).

If he would have come out and said "Hey 1.4M is a nice starting offer from the Browns but it isn't close to what I ultimately want...so we're going to have to keep working toward that new contract I think I've earned and see what happens", I would have ZERO problem with that. But this crap he's pulling? I don't think so.

"I laid it on the line for the people of Cleveland"

You did your job, Josh- and you did it well. If you hadn't, nobody would would be renegotiating with you for a new deal. Don't make your role out to be bigger than it was. Shut up and put your ego away and things will get done.

I am

You know what happens if Cribbs "shuts up"?

Nothing. As in "he'll get nothing". So I see no problem with any football player that is actually performing above his contract trying to get a new one.

The Browns apparently have no problem paying ex-coaches very well to sit around doing nothing. Pay a guy that, by all reasonable standards, is the team MVP.

Pretty simple if you ask me.

For what it is worth, two things are vital in negotiating to get deals done, and they are often overlooked unless you have sat in front of the gun. They are time and timing. The timing on this is okay, because it was promised by the club, and the MH addition budged it a smidge. Certainly the GM thang is more important and pressing with playoffs and those candidates' availability as well as urgency in moving us forward (time and timing again), much moreso than a player who remains under contract. Time forces issues, like trade deadlines. We have time left after an initial offer, probably lower like buying a car. These strongarm agent moves might well talk him out of a contract, or accelerate a move to FA "market checks" for perceived worth; certainly KW Dos did well regardless of real production.
I think this will happen, and that JC is damaging his "case" with his complaining. There are always two ways (at least) to say anything. One of them has to be better than this. The drama here is artificial and exaggerated, and it must be left at the feet of the agents behind the triggers. They are also very vested in the outcome and looking out for their own payday regardless of where else they point fingers and carry on.
I remain convinced he is wanted, has played harder than any of them, and he has produced beyond his initial contract level. The machinery will recognize that; if the issue is forced unreasonably, then he may insist on being elsewhere. Up the cash and add a host of performance escalators and get this done. But keep talking. With time and timing, the clock is always ticking, but no club will dance blindly to an agent's called tunes. Don't make it worse if it isn't. I also favor the Japanese business maxim which says, "Don't fix blame; fix problems." Who did whatever wrong still leaves that wrong." Get beyond it.

Cribbs is going to be on the ESPN Mike & Mike show during the last hour this morning...

if he uses this opportunity to trash the Browns and Holmgren, he may punch his ticket out of Cleveland...

I hope someone asks Cribbs if he gave any thought to just where his contract should be on Holmgren's "to do" list...

should be interesting...

He's still saying he won't play but seems to have backed off a bit by saying it's still very early.

This will get done.

Just listened to Cribbs on ESPN. He saying the same thing. Loves the fans, loves cleveland, wants to be paid what is fair. Won't play if he doesn't get a new contract. Seemed to understand the Browns have a lot on their plate right now.

Golic asked him directly if he would actually sit or if it was all talk like many other players say. Cribbs said he'll hold out. Same old same old. Things will work out. Posturing on both sides. Fun to watch IMO to see who blinks first.

My thought has been. On his estimated salary of $650k a year does Cribbs actually have the nest egg built up that he can actually afford sit out? My guess is No.

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On his estimated salary of $650k a year does Cribbs actually have the nest egg built up that he can actually afford sit out? My guess is No.

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Didn't he get a signing bonus when he did his last contract 3 years ago?

He really backed off and said nothing of the sort in this interview. I still don't know why the Browns don't just put a 2.5-3mil take it or leave it deal on the table.

Don't have anything as of yet.

Golic did seem to have taken Josh aback a bit with that comment.

Josh was NOT at all militant, angry or upset. He seemed to have put himself into a different, more positive posture.

Good,...(I didn't get to hear it either,...)

Josh should be back in the weight room at 2.5. That's 4x his regular salary.

Daman asked about his last bouns,...anybody know what that chunk was ?

2mil

$2 million when he signed his extension in December '06.

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tend to think (and hope) that some of his previous comments were fueled more by emotion.

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I got that same feeling.. that and it was exaggerated by his agents..

Ya know, when they said that if the Browns could have come in at 2.5 million a year that it would be a good talking point,, To me anyway, it made it clear that they were going for more than 2.5 mill a year.. That's just my take.

I'm ok with the threat to sit it out. That can be resolved easily enough.
Team and organizational bashing and the whole disrespect crap will not
cut it and lead to no good. Admittedly, I feel a whole lot better about the process after seeing the interview!