Donte Whitner once again calls out Justin Gilbert about his attitude
By Thomas Moore
Cleveland Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert needs to start doing what it takes to be a professional before he sees his career come to a premature close.
With so much focus falling on quarterback Johnny Manziel, cornerback Justin Gilbert has flown a bit under the radar.
While not as spectacular a failure as Manziel, Gilbert has been every bit as much of a bust after two years in the NFL as Manziel.
Manziel’s time in Cleveland will be coming to an end next week when the new NFL league year begins and the Browns can release him, but Gilbert may have one more opportunity to salvage his career in Cleveland.
Of course, as it has been since the beginning, it is up to Gilbert to want it.
“There’s things that he’s going to have to do in his personal life and his professional career to get it on track also, and there’s no hiding that,” safety Donte Whitner said of Gilbert on Monday. “So hopefully he’s doing what he’s supposed to do right now, so he can come in and contribute to this football team this year, and I haven’t had any contact with him. I haven’t spoken to him.”
To have a chance at success Gilbert needs to come back to the team “with a new attitude” and be “willing to learn and do the small things it takes to be successful,” according to Whitner, who has his doubts that Gilbert is willing or able to do that.
“There’s things that he’s going to have to do in his personal life and his professional career to get it on track also, and there’s no hiding that.” – Donte Whitner on Justin Gilbert
“If not, I don’t know what will happen,” Whitner said. “… But the slate can be wiped clean for him if he comes in with the right mindset, in the right shape that he’s supposed to be in. It can all change for him.”
This is the second year in a row that Whitner has challenged Gilbert to start acting like a professional.
“It’s time to grow up and not be a kid anymore. It’s a wasted year for him,” Whitner said following Gilbert’s rookie season. “There were so many ups, so many downs – a lot of it has been brought on by himself. He has to look himself in the mirror like (linebacker) Karlos Dansby said, he has to understand what he did wrong, what he needs to get better at, and make sure that you’re back here working out from day one when we return here to show everybody you have a good attitude and you want to go out there and be the player they drafted you to be.”
Whitner’s comments are in line with other reports about Gilbert not wanting to put in the time to be successful. Former team staff writer Kevin Jones detailed some of the issues in a November story in Scene magazine:
"Gilbert just doesn’t get joy out of breaking down the Xs and Os. Flashy plays get him going, not the nitty-gritty details that define professional football."
"Gilbert is on an island in a way, just not the way the organization wanted. While other Browns players generally make an effort to get to know each other in the locker room and cafeteria, Gilbert is usually by himself, sometimes even leaving the facility during the free hour period before practice. Team good guy Joe Haden attempted to mentor Gilbert this offseason by working out with him in Miami, but Gilbert continued to push away veterans looking to help guide him in Cleveland. He’s isolated himself from the team."
"There might not be anybody in the NFL who cares less about football than Gilbert."
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Gilbert’s defenders have spent the past two seasons blaming former head coach Mike Pettine for all of Gilbert’s problems, while ignoring what his own teammates were saying and what those close to the team were reporting. Those excuses are gone now, though, as the Browns have another new coaching regime in place.
A new coaching staff can present a clean slate for Gilbert, it is also true that while he has been wasting the first two years of his career everyone around him has been working to get better. And with cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu on the mend and the possibility that the Browns may look at cornerbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft, Gilbert’s days may be numbered.
And this time, there will be no one to blame but Gilbert himself.