Disgruntled Browns Pro Bowl special teamer Joshua Cribbs attended Thursday's full-squad meeting and met with coach Eric Mangini afterward, Mangini said.
Mangini was unsure whether Cribbs would participate in the final day of this week's voluntary three-day minicamp. Cribbs is seeking to renegotiate a seven-year, $6.67 million contract extension he signed in November, 2006.
Cribbs' agent J.R. Rickert said Cribbs is feeling underappreciated and has indicated Cribbs would ask for a trade if he doesn't see significant progress in the talks.
"Josh is a guy I've had good talks with since I've been here," Mangini said. "I talked to him here this morning. I spent some time with him. These are voluntary camps. But there's a ton of information going in and it's an opportujnity for us to see a lot of different players."
Asked if Cribbs' absence could scuttle a plan to use the former Kent State quarterback on defense, Mangini said, "Just like everything else, if you're trying something new you've got to see how it works."
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I sincerely hope that Josh Cribbs stays with Cleveland. He is a playmaker! He knows how to get to the goal line and he's very valuable not just on special teams but as a receiver/quarterback. He is a very special player that can do things that other guys just can't do. He's got vision. Vision that can't be taught that is instinct. He has great periphial vision that can get him a lot more yards than your average return man or receiver. He's also a fan favorite and coming from Kent State he brings in fans that might not be there if he's not. Go Browns! Please stay Cribbs.
He is a player that initially was considered a utility player whose talent had yey to be evaluated.The organization probably wasn't sure where to play him.
The contract he signed was fair,but now that he has shown how valuable he is he wants to re-negotiate.Don't they all? Sports is one of the few industries where contracts might as well be written on toilet paper