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Published on Friday, Aug 03, 2007
Dear Brady Quinn:
As you work out in Arizona or wherever, have you dared to ask yourself, ''Just what am I doing?''
Do you realize that your holdout makes it seem like you have an overblown sense of entitlement? That you not only are hurting yourself by holding out, but also not helping the team that saved you from even a bigger free-fall in the NFL Draft?
Brady, the Browns picked you at No. 22.
It doesn't matter that they once said you were among the top five players on their draft board. Or that you thought you should, as a quarterback, go higher than 22nd. Or that your college coach Charlie Weis thinks you are the next Tom Brady. Or that you went to Notre Dame.
You still were picked 22nd.
The only reason you didn't sink lower is the Browns made a deal with the Dallas Cowboys to stop your skid at 22. As you sat there forever in that room sweating in your suit on national TV during draft day, did you ever wish you had gone fishing with Joe Thomas instead?
Some people have suggested your strategy might be to wait until next year and go back into the draft. You went 22nd when you did play. Where will you be drafted after sitting out a year?
How stupid does all this have to become before you ask yourself, ''Is it me, or is it the Browns? Who is out of line?''
Or is this driven by your agent, who never imagined you'd drop to 22? You need to ask, ''Who is in charge of my negotiations, and what really is important to me?''
A way to assess your situation is to consider the team's recent history of signing draft picks. The Browns came to terms with first-rounder Joe Thomas and second-rounder Eric Wright just before camp opened. They signed first-rounder Kamerion Wimbley and second-rounder D'Qwell Jackson before camp a year ago.
To sign Thomas, they bucked the whispers from some other teams about how they should pay him a little less at No. 3 because he's a lineman. Supposedly, an offensive linemen should not be valued as highly as a ''skilled player'' such as a quarterback or a wide receiver.
The Browns gave Joe Thomas No. 3 money because he was the No. 3 pick. At $23 million, it's the most guaranteed money ever given a rookie offensive lineman. They signed LeCharles Bentley and Eric Steinbach to two of the largest free-agent contracts in NFL history for offensive linemen.
Thomas gets it. He signed. He's in camp and close to earning a starting spot. He's earning the respect of the other veterans, who see him sweat with them and appreciate the fact that he's asking for no special favors simply because he's a first-rounder.
Brady, you have said that you want to be ''protected'' in your contract in case you become a starter. Here's a bulletin: You hold out, you don't have to worry about starting this year.
If you had come to camp on time, gotten hot and played well in the preseason, you would have started soon, if not Opening Day. Now, you are a deep No. 3 on the depth chart and soon will be looking up at Ken Dorsey with no chance of competing with Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson for the job.
This is not about putting you down as a player. Obviously, the Browns believe you eventually can start, or why deal for you? They made their first offer to you May 23. They are available to talk, and your negotiations have had far more sputters and stalls than starts.
Ever consider telling your agent to fly to Cleveland, sit down in a room with the Browns and not leave until a deal is done? With a flick of the pen, you will become an instant millionaire. It's not hard to do this you look at what the 22nd pick received a year ago, add 10 to 15 percent, then get on the field.
Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick, and now he's one of the highest paid players in the NFL. He got his money after he went out and earned it. Now it's time for you to sign, then go out and do the same. noweb
Terry Pluto can be reached at terrypluto2003@yahoo.com. Sign up for Terry's free, weekly e-mail newsletter ''Direct from Pluto'' at www.ohio.com.
Dear Brady Quinn:
Get the full article here.
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