Josh,
We love you in Cleveland. You make our team so competitive. Love you in the Wildcat, love you on special teams, love your positive attitude and supporting your coach. You’re a perfect fit … in Cleveland. Other places too, but a REALLY good fit in Cleveland.
Holmgren just arrived in town this week. Mangini was just told he gets to keep his job next year. And a GM still needs to be hired. Then the needs for the team have to be analyzed and draft players evaluated. The draft is 104 days away, and our new GM needs to evaluate if a player in the draft can fill the roll you currently do. Chances are, that player will be found, but the risk on his performance might be too great, and they will come back around and offer you more.
You are under exclusive contract for 3 years. No other team can take you away. There’s no urgency on the Browns to do a deal this minute. They have the luxury of time, no matter how upset this makes you. And I understand that you want this deal done so you can go on with your life. I totally understand. But the Browns aren’t going to give their best offer until later, when more homework is done and people are hired for the front office.
Be patient. Demand a trade if you like, but it won’t hurry a deal right now. In a perfect world, the demand should come in mid-February after the Browns have had a chance to straighten up some bigger issues with the front office. My neighbor worked for the Browns and told me how back-stabbing the front office was when Savage was there. Luckily, he’s gone now, and the front office is getting much better.
Mangini, while not well liked at times, has a good heart, and wants to win football games. He is doing exactly what a manager should do when his team is extremely underperforming. He’s micromanaging. He’s evaluated every players play-by-play performance, finding the problems, and fixing those problems. Even when it’s not popular, he makes the hard decision. Braylon was a cancer, he’s out. Winslow doesn’t block, he’s out. Anderson should have been out, but his throws are so erratic that nobody wanted him. When the team starts winning, the micromanaging will back off and trust will grow.
Your play making ability make highlight reals in Cleveland, because there haven’t been many highlights these past two seasons. The Browns want to be extremely competitive, and to do so, we need lots of cap room for new players. Once the Browns know who they are going after this off-season and what they’ll have to pay for their draft picks this year, they will feel more comfortable offering you the extra money in the cap space. Your skills are definitely noticed. But the timing of a new deal is not now, it’s in 4-6 weeks.
I really hope you get a new deal. I really do. I want you to stay in Cleveland and give terror to our competitors in the AFC North. But if you leave Cleveland, Browns fans will hate you. Just a matter of life. If LeBron leaves, Cleveland will forget he was even hear. But if you play a career in Cleveland, do well, and retire in Cleveland, you’re a legend here. Be a legend. But also get paid. Be careful what you tell the public (twitter). Be careful what your agent says publicly.
But most of all, good luck. And Go Browns!
Sincerely,
Toby from Brunswick
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