Josh Cribbs Planning to Sit Out Workouts If New Deal Isn’t Reached

Despite promises of the previous regime, WR Josh Cribbs has been without a new contract for the entire offseason.  With that being said, he has decided to skip the team’s voluntary workouts this week unless some sort of progress is made on a new deal.  His current deal was a six-year extension signed in 2007 that was worth $6 million with $2 million guaranteed.

The promise to get Cribbs a new deal was made by Phil Savage, the previous GM of the Browns.  When he was fired, owner Randy Lerner apparently told Cribbs he would follow through on that deal.  If I was Savage and I knew I was about to be fired, I would promise anything and everything to every player.  You want a bajillion dollars? You got it!  Anyway, the Browns released a fairly odd statement regarding Lerner’s “promise” to Cribbs:

"“Contrary to published reports this morning, no one from the current Browns organization, including Owner Randy Lerner, has ever made any promises to Josh Cribbs with regard to his contract status.”"

While Cribbs sitting out voluntary workouts is not the worst news in the world, having the team’s best player become more and more disgruntled by the day is not good.  It makes sense that Cribbs is searching for a Devin Hester-esque paycheck ($40 million over four years with $15 million guaranteed), but something tells me the new regime of the Browns isn’t too keen on dealing with pouting superstars.

If there was any player with whom the Browns should try to deal with, it’s Cribbs.  He has done nothing but give it his all for this team, and will most likely play an even larger role this year.  The Browns might not like him sitting out, but in the best interest of the team, a new deal needs to happen.

Besides, I don’t want to lose “Josh’s Cribbs.”