Cleveland Browns: Isaiah Crowell in search of first 1,000-yard season

Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell has never finished a season with 1,000 rushing yards, and it isn’t likely to happen in 2017.

Isaiah Crowell has been a solid back for the Cleveland Browns during his four-year career, but he has yet to finish a season with 1,000 rushing yards.

His best year came in 2016 when he finished with 952 yards and seven touchdowns.

Crowell entered this season with the hopes of securing a big contract, but it is hard for a team to commit too much to a player with Crowell’s career numbers. One can argue that he would get more yards if utilized more, but that is simply speculation, although he did pick up those 952 yards on just 198 carries in 2016.

For comparison, Ezekiel Elliott totaled 322 attempts in 2016.

Crowell currently has 716 yards on 174 carries this season and is fresh off his best game of the year. He ran for 121 yards on 19 carries in last week’s painful loss to the Green Bay Packers. Keeping this pace during the final three games would get him well over 1,000 yards, but last week was the first time Crowell has run for more than 95 yards this season, and the first time he received more than 17 carries.

This is a symptom of playing in Hue Jackson’s offense, that for some reason involves calling pass plays for a rookie quarterback more and more each week even though he has a turnover problem. I suppose this explains the 0-13 record.

Regardless of the score of any game, Jackson loves his passes and that will likely keep Crowell below 1,000 yards once again. Pounding the run all game would only occur if the Browns gained a giant lead early in a game, and that seems like a dream at this point in time.

Crowell could be a player John Dorsey looks to keep next year, but it may come down to whether Crowell would even want to stay. Then again, Dorsey may not consider him a “real” player.

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The back may not get a massive deal in free agency, but he could go somewhere and easily pick up 1,000 yards if given the opportunity. And if Hue Jackson remains this team’s coach, Crowell may be playing his last game in a Browns uniform on December 31. Who can blame him?