Cleveland Browns to Release RT Tony Pashos
The Cleveland Browns plan on releasing right tackle Tony Pashos following a surgery on a ruptured tendon in his left foot. It was an injury that limited Pashos all of last season, and it required surgery even then, but he fought through it to avoid missing the entire year.
Pashos’ agent Rick Smith has said that the 31-year-old offensive lineman is upset about the news of his release.
"“Tony feels like he had the team’s back last season,” said Smith. “He wishes the team had his back now.”"
If Pashos had elected to have the surgery immediately following his injury, the recovery time would have been 9-10 months. Instead, he chose to play through the injury, thanks to a weekly mixture of pain pills and shots, which would eventually lead to ulcers that would require hospitalization.
Pashos was battling through the pain because he knew the Browns were counting on him at the right tackle position. It’s been a position of weakness in recent seasons, and it was admirable that Pashos fought through the injury for the team.
However, releasing Pashos will save the Browns about $2 million in cap space which, combined with what they will receive from the reallocation of the Dallas Cowboys’ and Washington Redskins’ cap space, will bring the total somewhere around $21 million.