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Tight end says he won't be a distraction
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Jul 25, 2008
BEREA: For perhaps 24 of his 25 years, Kellen Winslow was a magnet for controversy.
So there might have been no better indication of how the Browns' tight end has matured than when he uttered the words Thursday, ''I don't want to be a distraction.''
When he came to the Browns as the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, Winslow said something inflammatory every time he talked. He did little to dispel the reputation he had built at the University of Miami with his ''I'm a soldier'' rant after a 2003 game against Tennessee. Then he suffered serious injuries in a 2005 motorcycle accident, which has resulted in four surgeries on his right knee.
It sounded like the same Winslow in February during a Sirius NFL radio interview from the Pro Bowl when he said he wanted his contract renegotiated. Those remarks hinted at brewing trouble, along with his hiring of a new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and his decision to skip voluntary offseason training activities to work out in San Diego.
Winslow attended the mandatory June minicamp but wouldn't speak to the media.
Because several Rosenhaus clients have staged holdouts, some feared Winslow wouldn't report to training camp on time, or at least wouldn't be a happy camper.
But Winslow was on the field when drills began Wednesday and insisted on Day Two that contract issues won't affect his effort on the field.
''I'm sure you guys probably thought I wasn't coming, but I'm not that type of guy,'' Winslow said. ''I don't want to be a distraction. My job is to help this team win and come out here and play to the best of my ability.''
Winslow hasn't changed how he feels about his contract, which has three years remaining and will pay him $4 million in 2008, $4.5 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010. Last season, his 1,106 yards set a franchise record for his position. It was only the 14th 1,000-yard season by a tight end in league history.
''You can't focus on the contract,'' Winslow said. ''I'm under contract. I just want to be a
Cleveland Brown for a longer period of time, so my agent and the organization are in talks. My job is to play football.''
Rosenhaus said he feels a sense of urgency on his end and plans to visit Cleveland soon. General Manager Phil Savage has said repeatedly that he has a good relationship with Rosenhaus.
''Kellen and I have discussed it and decided to take the high road and handle it professionally. There will be no holding out and nothing that will keep Kellen off the field,'' Rosenhaus told the Associated Press.
Asked if he ever considered a holdout, Winslow said, ''I don't see myself as that type of guy. Drew is a great guy. He is a family-oriented guy, and he will do anything for his clients. I respect him to the highest level. My job is to play football and come out here and help this team win.''
Winslow knows Savage could wait another season to renegotiate.
''It's up to them. If they don't do it, they don't do it. If they do it, they do it,'' he said. ''My job is to just get out here and play.''
Coming back from a right-knee cleanup in the offseason and a separated shoulder in 2007, Winslow said he feels good physically. He said he studied his 82-catch season from a year ago and believes there's much room for improvement.
''I left a lot on the field last year,'' he said. ''I probably could have caught 100 balls. Touchdowns, I only had five, so I can get a lot better in each category.''
Winslow might never have been the person he was perceived to be when he arrived in Cleveland. Nonetheless, he certainly has changed since then.
''Coming out of college, I was probably viewed in a different light,'' he said. ''I'm 25 now. That stuff was a long time ago. I'm older now, married and I'm grown up.''
That has to be a relief to coach Romeo Crennel.
''We all go through that maturation process. He's in the middle of it,'' Crennel said. ''We've seen him settle down. He can manage himself better than he used to. He has a better understanding of how the team works and how he fits in and what's required of him.''
Tucker's goal
Offensive lineman Ryan Tucker hopes to play in a preseason game after undergoing surgery for a broken hip in mid-May. His last chance before the opener would be Aug. 28 against the Chicago Bears.
''It was just a bone, thank God, not a ligament,'' Tucker said. ''They put a plate in there, so structurally it's sound and it's healed. Now I just have to build my strength, which is coming along.''
An 11-year veteran, Tucker hates not practicing with a line that has become one of the best in the league during the past two years.
''We have so many good players on that line, so much depth,'' he said. '''I'm going to get healthy, then do what I can on the field. Whether I start or whether I back up, I'm not going to be stingy with this one.''
Brownies
Savage said on WTAM radio that defensive lineman Shaun Rogers reported at or below his prescribed weight and called that ''very encouraging.'' Rogers is listed as 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds. . . . The day's only practice in pads was a little chippy. Running back Jamal Lewis got fed up with late knockdowns after short receptions and gave linebacker Shantee Orr a forearm after one catch. . . . Receiver Travis Wilson made an excellent sliding catch of a Brady Quinn pass in the morning. . . . Running back Jason Wright missed the evening practice with an undisclosed injury that did not appear to be serious. . . . Today's schedule is for one practice from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
BEREA: For perhaps 24 of his 25 years, Kellen Winslow was a magnet for controversy.
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