They offered him more than 2x what he SIGNED for in 2006, he wants at least 2x more than what they just negotiated to offer him. What happens the next time a player outperforms their current contract, are we supposed to give in to all of their demands too? "Well Jerome, you did sign for 3 million per season, but you just had two 1200+ yard years, so sure, we will pay you 9 million per year from this point forward."

Lets be realistic here. The Indianapolis Colts are one of, if not THE best team in the NFL right now, and they have a horrid special teams. Good football teams win football games with or without good special teams play. Our ST coverage is good with or without Cribbs, the coaching is solid, the rest of the players get the job done.

1.4 million isn't absurd, and I bet if he and his agent handled the situation a little better, they would get more. I know they would at least be willing to throw in some incentives, pro bowl appearance=bonus, each return td=bonus, etc. To me, it seems like he expected Holmgren to get off his plane, walk right up to him and give him a fat check. Holmgren has far more important things to do than that, and I wouldn't be surprised if he just threw out a number to get it over with, and get on with the more important things at hand.

Josh Cribbs is a special situation because he means a lot to this city and the fans. He's the one guy you break your belief for and pay him.

1.4 sounds low in comparison to other players with similar roles, but there's no reason to get crazy here. I like Josh and what he brings to the team as much as the next Browns fan, but we don't need to get stupid over one special teams guy.

If I were Holmgren I would take the average of the top 5 KR/PR salaries in the game and make that my first offer. That would be more than 1.4 obviously, but if Cribbs is wanting Hester type money then forget it. The Bears got fleeced by Hester, and while I hope Cribbs stays a Brown for the rest of his career, there's no reason to ridiculously overpay for a special teams player...no matter how good he is.

Josh Cribbs has turned into more than a special teams player. He's becoming a main staple in the Wildcat as well..

He definitely deserves more than the 1.4 offered. I'd go around 3.5 to 4 mill.

They showed Cribbs at the Q tonight and the whole arena exploded. He means a lot to Cleveland fans in general. I'm not sure how the situation should be handled, but you have to take his worth beyond the football field into account.

We're talking about someone who, after five years, may well be the best kick returner in the history of the game. And with an offense this atrocious, starting off with excellent field position is even more important.

It's also important to note that Cribbs seems to be improving as a punt returner while Hester seems to have regressed a bit.

LTrain23 wrote: Josh Cribbs has turned into more than a special teams player. He's becoming a main staple in the Wildcat as well..

He definitely deserves more than the 1.4 offered. I'd go around 3.5 to 4 mill.

I'd be willing to throw incentives into the fold to possibly net him this per year, but not make that his base contract. This year, 4 special teams TD's, the yards, etc. he deserves around 3.5 I'd say, but what if next year he doesn't get any return td's and his yards per return average drops down 3 YPR from this season?

I'd say each return touchdown is worth x. A pro bowl bid is worth x. You reach x total yardage on the season and you get x bonus.

As far as the wildcat goes, Its a moot point with the switch to the WCO. We likely have seen the last of the Wildcat offense in Cleveland.

Wildcat or not, Cribbs has proven to be a valuable scat back.

He had less than 400 total rushing yards, I'm not ready to call that reliable yet.

Hes a return specialist and a player who accounted for less then 600 total offensive yards. Give him a raise....not too big of one though

h2thaizzo wrote: He had less than 400 total rushing yards, I'm not ready to call that reliable yet.

Considering those yards came in a Daboll directed offensive scheme, I'd have to believe that's pretty damn good actually.

He should get 2.5-3.5, three year deal.

I'd give Cribbs his money. He deserves every penny at this point.

Fact is, 1.4M isn't even close to the average of the top 10 paid KR's in the league.

He's not asking for Devin Hester money. He's asking for 2-3 million a season with some incentives.

It's not too much to ask for being the 2nd best player on our team, and for what he's done for us single-handedly.

ts1227 wrote: From the PD article on it, here are salaries for players with similar roles.

Devin Hester (CHI) - $5.45 million
Andre Davis (HOU) - $4.3 million
Roscoe Parrish (BUF)- $3.2 million.

And none of those teams are in the playoffs. I am not saying the Browns are a good team right now, but how can you justify paying a return man that much money? I know Cribbs has been our best weapon the last few years, but I have a feeling Holmgren isn't looking at Josh Cribbs and thinking, "man I can't wait to build an offense around this guy" And what is Cribbs bitching about already? MH was meeting with a potential GM and our current HC that may or may not be here next year. I think the Browns have a couple more important things to do than go all out to get Cribbs' situation ironed out 3-4 months before we even get to the draft.

Well, the Hester situation is different. He's not even their KR anymore. They paid him that money to become a WR 1st, PR 2nd, and they gave the KR duties to Knox.

Negotiations 101...don't start with what you're willing to pay...

This article shows that he's not asking for the moon. A 2.5 offer may have gotten something done.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8158f951&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Per rotoworld:

The agent for Josh Cribbs told NFL.com late Wednesday that his client will formally request a trade from the Browns.
The Browns, under Mike Holmgren even, are offering Cribbs a raise to just $1.4M a year. Another of Cribbs' player reps hinted at a trade demand earlier today. Agent J.R. Rickert confirmed it. "We’re going to formally put in a request for a trade," Rickert said. "(Cribbs) will not set foot in that facility again. If they had offered even something like $2.5 million per season we could have worked with them, but to me this offer is indefensible."

If they trade him I'm going to kick Holmgrens ass

derek bomar wrote: If they trade him I'm going to kick Holmgrens ass

He can demand a trade all he wants. He has 3 years left on his current deal. If he's gonna be a cryin ass baby, then I hope they refuse to trade him and he just sits his ass out!!

Pay the man the 2.5 he wants and be done with it..As of right now he and harrison are our entire offense. If they let him go without even offering any more than 1.4 they will take some extreme heat from the Browns nation.

2.5 - 3 mil is not asking for much. This offer by the Browns simply blows my mind away. How many games do we win this year without Josh Cribbs!?!?!

h2thaizzo wrote: They offered him more than 2x what he SIGNED for in 2006, he wants at least 2x more than what they just negotiated to offer him. What happens the next time a player outperforms their current contract, are we supposed to give in to all of their demands too? "Well Jerome, you did sign for 3 million per season, but you just had two 1200+ yard years, so sure, we will pay you 9 million per year from this point forward."

Lets be realistic here. The Indianapolis Colts are one of, if not THE best team in the NFL right now, and they have a horrid special teams. Good football teams win football games with or without good special teams play. Our ST coverage is good with or without Cribbs, the coaching is solid, the rest of the players get the job done.

1.4 million isn't absurd, and I bet if he and his agent handled the situation a little better, they would get more. I know they would at least be willing to throw in some incentives, pro bowl appearance=bonus, each return td=bonus, etc. To me, it seems like he expected Holmgren to get off his plane, walk right up to him and give him a fat check. Holmgren has far more important things to do than that, and I wouldn't be surprised if he just threw out a number to get it over with, and get on with the more important things at hand.

Well said and my thoughts too.

cribbs scored dang near as many touchdowns has the whole offense another jackass move by the clowns that is why they suck

I hope this is not on the 3 current deal, but also an extension out for 5-6 years. Redo the contract for a 2.5-3 million a year for 5 years, give him bonuses for TD's, rushing yards, Pro-bowl that could work it up to 4 million a year. The Browns have the leverage here, he has three years left on his bad deal. He could play for the current contract or sit out.