Cribbs Contract Bites Browns Again

It just goes to show you, teams lose out when they renegotiate player contracts before they expire.

Before I get into my Josh Cribbs Rant of the Week, let me reiterate that I'm not simply bashing Cribbs for the sake of bashing Josh Cribbs. I'm only using him as an example to illustrate my point.

My point being: I don't care who you are — if you sign a contract, you should honor that contract. There's no such thing as "out-performing" a contract.

Professional athletes sign contracts with teams, agreeing to play a game to the best of their ability. If it happens that said athlete contributes in a more positive way than originally anticipated, then the team got a great deal and the player has bargaining power when it is time to renegotiate — but not until then.

Now, it's no secret I'm not a fan of Josh Cribbs. I don't think he's as great as the media has made him think he is. Sure, he played better than expected for an undrafted player from a mid-major school. By no means, however, was he entitled to a new contract before his current contract was up.

But, he whined and cried and threatened to not play and demanded to be traded. Unfortunately, the Browns gave in and renegotiated his contract last year.

We all see how well that worked out. Cribbs contributed diddly-squat last season. Of course, he's not going to give that money back, even though he "under-performed" his contract.

Regardless, this ill-advised decision by the Browns to give Josh Cribbs more money has again bitten them in the ass.

The NFL owners have made a rule change to move kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35, thus increasing the likelihood of a touchback to near 40 percent.

What is so significant about this? Well, it's a significant blow to so-called return specialists, such as Josh Cribbs.

The league implemented the rule because it found a higher incidence of collision injuries, specifically concussions, on kickoffs. The vote passed 26-6 — and it's no surprise that teams with "return specialists," such as the Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Bears, were among those six teams that voted against it.

It's also no surprise that Josh Cribbs is speaking out against this rule change: “Returners like myself will become obsolete,” he said Tuesday on NFL Network.

No kidding, Josh Cribbs. That's all fine and good for you to say such a thing in public, but what does he care? He's already got his money.

Oh, that's right! This new rule totally cuts the legs off of any chance of a "return specialist" demanding more money (unless they're really, really good).

Because of the Lockout, the players are speaking out against just about everything the owners do and Josh Cribbs isn't the only player who isn't happy about the new rule.

So, let me get this straight: The players think they deserve more money from the owners because of the danger of the game, but when the owners try to tweak rules to make the game safer, the players get upset.

Attention NFL players: You can't have it both ways (But this whole lockout mess is a topic for another day).

I was against the Browns giving Josh Cribbs more money last year, because he was still under contract. Cribbs didn't perform last season, and I certainly hated to say, "I told you so." Now, with the new rule, it appears Cribbs again won't be able to live up the expectations of his contract.

Sure, last year the Browns couldn't have seen this coming. At the same time, however, they were in a position where they certainly didn't have to renegotiate Josh Cribbs' contract, but they did anyway. It pains me again, but I must say, "I told you so."

Go Browns!