Isaiah Crowell is feeling good about the Browns

Cleveland Browns Isaiah Crowell is feeling confident about the future prospects of the team, which is quite a change from a year ago.

What a difference a year makes – well, 10 months, but you get the point.

It was just last July that Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell came under fire for posting an illustration on one of his social media accounts of a police officer being stabbed in the neck.

To his credit, Crowell quickly realized his mistake and made amends with the team, the NFL and the Dallas Police Department.

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He then went on to have the best season of his three-year career, leading the Browns with 952 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He also added a career-high 40 receptions for 319 yards.

Crowell paired with fellow running back Duke Johnson to help the Browns become the second-best rushing team in the league at 4.9 yards per carry, which was also a 50-year high for the franchise.

Sure, the contract situation may not be going as well as Crowell or his representatives would like – the Browns placed a second-rounder tender that Crowell took his time signing – but on the eve of the second round of Organized Team Activities, Crowell said he is content, according to the Ledger-Enquirer, which caught up with Crowell over the weekend at his annual youth football camp.

Crowell also believes the best is yet to come and he likes what he sees from the Browns:

"“I feel very good about it. I feel like we’re building something special. A lot of people are underestimating us, but I feel like we’re going to shock the world. I feel like all the guys we got are very talented. They’re going to be able to come out and help us tremendously from the start of the season. I just wish those guys the best. I hope they keep training hard.”"

Crowell could be line to have an even bigger year this fall after the Browns worked hard to fix the offensive line by signing center JC Tretter and guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency. That would raise Crowell’s asking price, of course, but the Browns have the cap space and the stated desire to retain their own players, so they might not be too unhappy about forking over a little extra cash if it comes to that.

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The Browns still have some problems, but the running game is not one of them, thanks in large part to the contributions from Crowell and Johnson.

Proving that owning up to your mistakes and getting to work can sometimes make all the difference in the world.