Re: Bryant probably won't be back with the Browns Bryant probably will not be back with the BrownsBy Tony Grossi, PD Reporter Sunday, 12 February 2006 Antonio Bryant, the fifth player in Browns history to post 1,000 yards receiving in a season, likely will not return to the team. The Browns have decided to move on without Bryant, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on March 3. They just can't bring themselves to state it publicly. "We're kind of wait-and-see on that one," General Manager Phil Savage said of Bryant. "He wants to test [free agency] a little bit. I think it probably helps us a little bit that way, too."Lamont Smith, Bryant's agent, disputed that Bryant wants to test free agency. "To my knowledge, Antonio's never communicated that to [Savage]," Smith said. "We just have not heard from them. Draw your own conclusions. Antonio never told them that he wanted to test the market. "I certainly haven't told them that. I can't do a deal by myself. I did approach Romeo [Crennel] about this at the Senior Bowl. Suffice it to say, we haven't gotten any indications that there's any interest in re-signing him." Despite some notable drops, Bryant led the Browns with 69 catches for 1,009 yards and four touchdowns. The receiving yards rank No. 4 on the franchise's all-time list, trailing Webster Slaughter's 1,236 in 1989, Kevin Johnson's 1,097 in 2001 and Paul Warfield's 1,067 in 1968. Ozzie Newsome had totals of 1,002 yards in 1981 and 1,001 in 1984. Bryant, acquired in a trade with Dallas for receiver Quincy Morgan in mid-2004, was a bargain for the club. He made $455,000 in 2005, the last year of his original, four-year contract. Bryant came to the Browns with the reputation as a hothead. He threw a jersey in the face of Dallas coach Bill Parcells in the 2004 training camp. The Cowboys ordered Bryant to attend anger-management counseling before welcoming him back. They traded him two months later.In 1? seasons with the Browns, the worst behavior seen from Bryant was an occasional jawing with his quarterback. Smith believes Bryant's image was healed in his time with the Browns. For that, he is thankful. "The great thing Cleveland allowed him to do was show he's a team player, and he makes plays," Smith said. "There are guys that function in this league that have been a lot more disruptive than what people might construe Antonio to be. Antonio only wanted to play and make a contribution. Time has shown he was right in wanting those things. He's been productive in Dallas and productive in Cleveland." One-thousand-yard receivers are more plentiful than at any time in NFL history. Bryant ranked 19th among 20 1,000-yard receivers in 2005. He will be only 25 next month. Coming off his best season in four NFL campaigns, Bryant should have no trouble finding a buyer in free agency. Pittsburgh may view Bryant as a replacement for Antwaan Randle El, who is expected to leave in free agency. Bryant starred at the University of Pittsburgh. Coincidentally, Morgan was signed by the Steelers after Dallas released him during last season. Morgan broke his lower left leg in Pittsburgh's 16th game and was idle during the Steelers' postseason run. The Browns definitely would need to replace Bryant with an experienced pass catcher in free agency because their top two receiving threats - tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and receiver Braylon Edwards - each will be coming off anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Knee updates: Smith, who also represents Edwards, thinks Edwards "definitely" will be ready to start the regular season in September. "Braylon's doing well. He's moving along well and is very optimistic," Smith said. "He's talked to a lot of people that had ACLs, one player who had three, and he was very encouraged how that guy recovered. He's excited. He's antsy to get back and start playing football." Savage has cautioned fans not to expect Edwards to be at 100 percent immediately when he returns to active status. He wouldn't go so far as predicting Edwards may start the season on the physically unable to perform list, which would idle him until October.He said Edwards will not be ready to participate in training camp, but "I think September would be a conservative guess," he said. Winslow should be ready for training camp, Savage said. Winslow had his ACL surgery in June and then overcame a staph infection in July. Edwards had his surgery in December.More free-agent fodder: Savage said the team still is trying to negotiate deals to keep defensive end Orpheus Roye and left tackle L.J. Shelton from becoming unrestricted free agents on March 3. The team is not actively pursuing new deals for tight end Aaron Shea and linebacker Ben Taylor. They only would come back if they can't sign elsewhere. Even more on free agency: Savage said he is excited about heading into free agency with more than $20 million in salary cap room. "You never know how it's going to turn out, but there's some potential there for us to have a pretty good run at this thing this spring, in free agency and the draft," said. He said the team will be more selective than it was last year in free agency, when it signed eight players."Last year our approach was to try to spread the money across a number of players. In some ways, it was kind of a hold-the-fort approach. We wanted to get players that were competent players that were good leaders and provided some professionalism. I thought we were pretty successful in accomplishing those goals. "We knew we weren't going to get the blue-chip players last year, with the exception of maybe a Gary Baxter, who would have been at the top of his class. This year, certainly, we're going to strive more for quality. Maybe less quantity, but a better overall class [of players]." Catching up to the Steelers:First, the obvious. "Talent-wise, just look at the Pro Bowl rosters," Savage said. "Yeah, there's a disparity there." Savage does not view the gap as unbridgeable. "If two of our prominent players [Winslow and Edwards] can come back, that closes it a little bit. But obviously we've got to do a good job in the off-season. We've got our work cut out for us, but at the same time, the league's designed to help teams get better. "One real positive for us right now is that, as of today, this is the first time since 1999 that the Browns have come back and not had a major coaching change or change in player personnel of real note. That should help us." From HERE
Re: Bryant probably won't be back with the Browns Bryant is a good WR, but I can understand them wanting to open the door up for Braylon Edwards to shine.If we was to hit free agency, I wouldnt mind to see the Jets taking a look at him for a possible #2 wideout, but I cant see him being a Mangini type player and that the Jets have bigger prioritys then finding a #2 WR right now.
