Rashard Higgins drama confirms Cleveland Browns locker room problems

Rashard Higgins refusing to play against the Seattle Seahawks confirmed the Cleveland Browns have a leadership issue in the locker room.

The playing time of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins over the past three games has been confusing. After having a breakout season in 2018, Higgins was expected to help bring the offense out of its slump after returning from injury.

Instead, Higgins has only played 28 offensive snaps the past three games, including zero snaps against the Seattle Seahawks during Week 6, his first game active after missing four games with a knee injury.

Higgins and Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens would not answer questions as to why the wide receiver did not play against the Seahawks, creating a sense there was a problem between the two parties.

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On Friday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic reported Higgins did not play against the Seahawks because he refused to play when asked to enter the game (subscription required). Higgins said after the game he did not know why he was not put into the game.

The Browns coaching staff clearly was expecting Higgins to be on the field against the Seahawks. Otherwise, they would not have activated him for the game and instead would have let him miss another game.

This drama with Higgins is just another arrow pointing at the direction of the Browns having issues in the locker room. There does not appear to be much leadership from both the coaching staff and the players themselves because situations like this do not normally happen.

The concern with Kitchens would be if he would demand the respect from his players as the head coach. But as the season drags on and the Browns still resemble an undisciplined team who can not execute, it is clear Kitchens is not doing enough to get what he wants out of the players.

Higgins telling his own head coach that he will not enter a game despite being dressed and apparently part of the game plan is mind-numbing. A coach clearly is not showing enough leadership if his own players are saying they won’t enter games when called upon.

But the issue does not just fall onto Kitchens. It is now a broader issue because there does not seem to be too much leadership in the locker room itself. With the Browns struggling, the players should be demanding the most out of each other. But what they are getting is players who don’t want to play in games despite being ready to play.

Baker Mayfield has already said in press conferences he needs to be doing more as a leader of the team. But it is also a problem when the veteran leadership is not there. Young players will respect the veterans because they’ve been through the grind of the NFL. However, if the younger players are doing what they want without being held accountable by others, it can ruin an entire locker room.

It is becoming fairly clear that Cleveland’s performance is not the only problem for the organization. Without good leadership, a roster of great talent can be rendered useless. And that seems to be the biggest problem with the Cleveland Browns right now.