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Scouring the countryside for a cornerback
From the looks of the rookie minicamp roster, it’s not hard to tell which area is deemed most in need of improvement.
There are 20, that’s right 20, defensive backs here. Four have contracts as undrafted college free agents and 16 are bouncing around Berea on tryouts.
And it’s entirely possible the Browns still will walk away from this camp needing help in the secondary (although it looks like they won’t be losing veteran corner Daven Holly, a restricted free agent who says he’ll sign his one-year tender offer from the Browns soon).
“If somebody’s good enough, we hope to find (a cornerback),” head coach Romeo Crennel said. “But I don’t know if it’s going to come from this bunch or not.”
General Manager Phil Savage neglected defensive backs in the draft, not wanting to reach for need in the middle rounds at the expense of adding a player at a different position who may have had a higher grade.
The cornerback shortage stems mainly from the trade with Detroit in which Leigh Bodden was sacrificed in order to acquire defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. And it doesn’t help that veteran Kenny Wright’s status remains in limbo following his recent arrest in Texas on charges of drug possession and fleeing the police.
Wright is still technically on the roster, but he didn’t play much last season and the NFL will have the final say on his status if the Browns don’t cut him themselves out of sheer exasperation.
One starting cornerback job belongs to second-year pro Eric Wright. We know that. Brandon McDonald, another second-year pro, will complete on the other side, probably with Holly. But in this day and age, any team without four legitimate corners runs the risk of being passed silly.
So the search continues and may lead back to someone such as Jereme Perry, a former Browns player recently released by the Miami Dolphins. Perry, who made the Browns two summers ago as an undrafted frree agent, at least knows the defense and would have that going for him.
Among this year’s crop of undrafted college free agents, Darnell Terrell of Missouri was probably closest to being drafted, judging by what is being said about him.
Other undrafted CFAs are Justin Harrison (Illinois), Jerrid Gaines (Miami of Ohio) and Gerard Lawson (Oregon State).
DBs here on tryouts represent schools from all across the land, all levels of football and nearly the full spectrum of the alphabet, from Darrius Battles (Louisiana-Monroe) to Jonathan Zenon (LSU).
By casting such “a wide net,” as Savage put it, the Browns are simply trying to better the odds of finding that diamond in the rough all NFL teams seek.
They are not holding their collective breath, however.
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By bill
May 4, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
With Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys looming as the first game of the season, I’d say having a good corner back would be a big priority for the Browns. If not, they won’t here the end of it from Owens.