Say Goodbye to CB Daven Holly

When CB Daven Holly was injured last May during OTA’s, I figured he would come back in 2009 to provide some much-needed depth to the defense.  He was a very serviceable cornerback and made a bigger difference in the secondary than people care to realize.  He would have probably started over Brandon McDonald, keeping McDonald where he probably belonged for a little longer, as a nickelback.  Despite his knee injury, Holly is only 26-years-old…and a free agent.

Turns out, he began visiting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday.  Knee injuries are always risky and it is impossible to guess the production of a player returning from one, but the Browns are seriously hurting in the secondary.  They can’t seriously just let Holly walk, can they?  Now, I know Eric Mangini has been busy turning the Browns into the Jets Rejects (recently signing LB David Bowens, DE C.J. Mosley and CB Hank Poteat while making an offer to S Abram Elam), but Holly would have been nice to have in the paper-thin secondary.

I also realize the Browns just signed a cornerback in Poteat, choosing to sign a veteran who actually played last year rather than taking a risk on Holly.  However, I was really starting to appreciate Holly in the secondary, and still think he will contribute no matter where he ends up.  I suppose Holly would not have been happy having to compete for his job against a guy Mangini already knows.  I would hope that was not the case, but either way, Holly’s days in Cleveland are over.

Holly’s best season came in 2006, when he played in 14 games (starting 12), recording five interceptions and returning one for a touchdown.