My quick thoughts on the Braylon Edwards deal, with obviously more to come:
The Browns did the next best thing to suspending him. They traded him. Now he's New York's headache. I'd have suspended him. Hurt him in the wallet and the ego department and make him come back and contribute to the Browns and see what happens in the offseason with the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Browns chose to trade him. Which is fine. He was a headache, is a headache and would have always been a headache in Cleveland. This should open up playing time for Brian Robiskie and allow Mohammed Massaquoi to develop and give Derek Anderson freedom from someone who almost killed Anderson's career with his drops. Those are good things.
I wish they'd gotten more than two more ex-Jets — is this an endless pipeline? — and two mid-round picks, but that might have been Edwards' market value right now. And clearly Eric Mangini covets his former players. You can never have enough average ex-Jets on your team.
The problem with dealing Edwards this way, though, is they gave him what he wanted.
Edwards will say he loved Cleveland and respected LeBron and all that, but the fact of the matter is his actions indicated he wanted nothing to do with Cleveland. He didn't like it the day he was drafted. He got Terry Robiskie fired. Now he's gotten what he wants — a ticket out of Cleveland, a ticket away from Mangini, a coach he (and many others) simply did not enjoy.
And look where he goes: To New York, to play for the Jets, for one of the more popular new head coaches in the league.
The Browns might have done themselves a favor unburdening themselves from Edwards and his shenanigans, but they did Edwards a bigger favor trading him to a team and a city that will feed his huge ego. Broadway. Herald Square. Madison Avenue. He's probably drooling at the thought of it.
The Browns got a young receiver, a special teams player and (according to reports) third- and fifth-round draft picks for the third overall pick in the draft. In other words, the Browns got four guys.
The Jets get a potential headache, but also a potential 1,000-yard receiver — if he can get back to what he did in 2007.
Edwards gets exactly what he wanted.
It's almost as if the kid who sat in the corner and cried and screamed and held his breath until he turned blue got his way.
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Oh, come on, andy … don't shower me with semantics. If 300 reviewers reviewed "The Godfather," and five of those reviewers said the movie blew chunks, then the movie wasn't ridiculed.
also alan, why are you ignoring the boldin example that myself and No Name brought up?
By the way alan No Name is right, everyone was criticizing jones for trading two thirds and a first for williams. your godfather example might apply to detroit's end of the deal.
Chicago offered at least a 2nd rounder for Boldin … so did the Redskins. This comes from their own people, not rumor. Philadelphia offered a 3rd rounder and Sheldon Brown. And the Boldin situation is different in that it could linger for years because of his long-term contract situation. Edwards is in his last year. Apples to pears. The Roy Williams example is apples to apples in every way.
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