http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindeale...ll=2&thispage=4 Bond forged in pain Rehab from injuries draws Edwards, Winslow together Saturday, April 15, 2006 Mary Kay Cabot Plain Dealer Reporter Browns receiver Braylon Edwards sat alone in the Browns locker room, coming to the grips with the fact that he had just torn his anterior cruciate ligament, when Kellen Winslow Jr. walked in. Winslow Jr., recovering from a torn ACL of his own, was the first person Edwards saw after getting the news. "He came over to me and said, It's going to be long road, man, but I'm going through the same thing and I'm here for you,' " Edwards recalled. "It meant a lot to me." Little did they know, the encounter was the start of a close friendship, a heated competition to return to the field, and a grand plan to bring the Browns back to glory beginning in 2006. Thrown together Edwards had been in Cleveland less than an hour -- on draft day last April -- when reporters began grilling him about Winslow. Did he think their egos would clash? Would there be enough balls to go around for the two stars? ?It was crazy, man,? Edwards said. ?It was like people were trying to pit us against each other and we hadn?t even met. ?I never believed the things I heard about him before I got to know him,? Edwards said. ?I figured he?s a football player and as long as he wants to win, we?ll be on the same page.? Just over a week later, on May 1, Winslow was badly injured in a motorcycle crash and Browns fans never got a chance to see how the two stars would mesh on or off the field. Even though they lockered near each other in Berea, they barely knew each other last season. Edwards was busy catching up from a training camp holdout and Winslow was glued to the medical staff. What?s more, Winslow was sequestered from the team during the bonding days of training camp while recovering from a career-threatening staph infection that penetrated his reconstructed knee and caused him to lose nearly 30 pounds. It wasn?t until Edwards suffered a staph-like infection of his own in his right arm in October that the two had more than just casual conversation. Winslow offered advice and encouragement. Then, on Dec. 4, Edwards jumped for a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars, landed awkwardly on his right leg and heard the telltale pop. Like Winslow before him, he tore his right ACL ? which requires a nine- to 12-month recovery. But it wasn?t until Jan. 3 that fate really thrust them together. It was the day of Edwards? knee surgery, but unbeknownst to anyone, Winslow also underwent another surgery that day on his reconstructed knee, an arthroscopic procedure to clean out scar tissue. Suddenly, instead of Winslow being seven months ahead of Edwards in his recovery, the playing field was level for a while. First, they started off walking together at the Browns facility in Berea and then they worked up to a jog. Before long, they were competing to see who could beat the other to the facility for their grueling morning sessions. ?If Kellen got there after me he?d be really upset,? Edwards said. When Edwards was able to drive and Winslow wasn?t, Edwards began picking Winslow up on his way to Berea. ?This can be a lonely, painful process and having him makes it go a lot smoother,? Edwards said. ?There are days when I?m thinking, ?Why did this have to happen to me?? and then I see Kellen and I know what I have to do and vice-versa.? Before long, the two were hanging out together, playing video games, going to movies and out to dinner with Winslow?s fianc?e and Edwards? date. ?We got close really fast because we had so much in common,? Edwards said. Common ground One thing they bonded over quickly was their dads. Edwards and Winslow are two of about 30 NFL players whose fathers also played in the league. Winslow?s dad is Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr., who played forthe San Diego Chargers from 1979 to ?87, and Edwards? dad is Stan Edwards, who played running back for the Houston Oilers and Detroit Lions from 1982 to ?87. ?There was a lot of pressure on both of us,? Braylon Edwards said. When Edwards was a baby, his dad put a football in his crib and told him he?d be a No. 1 pick someday. Then he spent much of the next 20 years molding him into a future NFL star. Winslow?s dad widely is regarded as one of the best tight ends ? if not the best ? in NFL history. ?Kellen has been proving his whole life that he wants to play this position and not just because of his father,? Edwards said. ?I had to prove that I didn?t get into Michigan because my father went there. We?re both constantly overcoming and fighting.? As the friendship grew, Edwards and Winslow realized they also were very different. Winslow is intense, while Edwards is laid back. When they play video games, Winslow has been known to throw the controller. And when they?re working out, Winslow yells at Edwards to get that extra rep. Winslow listens to Metallica and 50 Cent, while Edwards likes Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind and Fire. ?His intensity has rubbed off on me but my mellower side is playing to him,? Edwards said. Winslow admitted late last season that his motorcycle accident humbled him, and Edwards said his injury has had the same effect. ?Now I know it can all be taken away in an instant,? he said. ?It makes you not want to act [negatively] because people will remember you as an arrogant jerk and you never got the chance to change your ways.? But the two are still confident they will live up to their status. Winslow was the No. 6 overall pick out of Miami in 2004 and Edwards was the No. 3 overall pick out of Michigan in 2005. In fact, they talk often about resurrecting the Browns. ?As a tight end and receiver, we think we can change and revolutionize the game,? Edwards said. Developing rapport The two also have been spending a lot of time with quarterback Charlie Frye, who had planned to work out in Arizona in January and February, but came back to be with Edwards and Winslow. Often, they watch film together at the Browns facility. ?I love watching film with Charlie,? Winslow recently told clevelandbrowns.com. ?I want to learn how the quarterbacks learn. I want to learn what everybody?s supposed to do.? Edwards said the trio has ?one of those Marvin Harrison-Reggie Wayne-Peyton Manning type deals going on. They have their own little code. When you have guys that work well together, there?s no limit to what they can do.? Upon the advice of the medical staff, Edwards declined to share details of his rehab, but is still targeting the start of the season. Winslow is expected to participate in the June minicamp and told the team?s Web site he?s been working out six to seven days a week. ?However long Kellen and I are together here ? and I hope it?s forever ? I don?t see us ever creating space between us,? Edwards said. ?If I need that little kick, I?ll always look to No. 80. I?ll always be there for him and hopefully he?ll always be there for me.? To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4670 ? 2006 The Plain Dealer ? 2006 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.
