Secondary Concerns
The Browns secondary wasn’t exactly stellar last season, and it looks like things are actually getting worse…
The Orange and Brown Report broke news yesterday that CB Daven Holly has injured his knee, and it doesn’t sound very positive to me-
The OBR has been told by sources close to the organization that CB Daven Holly injured his knee this week, and that an MRI has confirmed that ligament damage has occurred. The seriousness of the injury and how it occurred are not yet known.
Neither the Plain Dealer, nor the Akron Beacon Journal has picked up on the story so far. If it turns out to be true, and Holly has torn ligaments, it could be a big blow to an already inexperienced unit. The current roster has Brandon McDonald, Eric Wright and Jereme Perry at CB. (Assuming Holly would be out for at least a portion of the season, and Baxter is moved to Safety as has been reported.) The Browns brought in a number of undrafted DB’s, but it is hard to imagine having to depend upon one or more of those players contributing on a regular basis. *UPDATE AFTER THE JUMP*
Savage may be regretting his decision to pass on CB’s in the draft. After Kenny Wright’s run from the law, the trade of Leigh Bodden, and this injury to Holly the Browns find themselves in quite a spot. A quick check of the free agents still available is disheartening. Guys like Fred Thomas and Chad Scott are there, career backups who are on the wrong side of 33 for an NFL CB. So it looks like Savage may need to start working the phones if he wants to improve this unit.
This is the second signifcant injury of OTA’s as by now you have certainly heard that Ryan Tucker had hip surgery over the weekend. The OBR was first with that story as well. A tip of the hat to Barry and the folks over there! Tucker should be ready to rejoin the team during the preseason.
UPDATE- It appears the injury occurred on a jump ball play with Braylon Edwards, who also injured himself on the play, suffering what ESPN is calling a hip pointer. Holly, according to that report, could very well be finished for the season.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:04 am
“run from the law” — love it.
Not that it helps the CB situation much, but the Raiders released Schweigart. Could he help at the FS??
May 21st, 2008 at 11:55 am
Hopefully, there will be a cut or two coming up before training camp the Browns can jump on. Our depth at CB really worries me. I think you need 3 pretty good ones and definitely don’t have that right now.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Dollar Draft Chuck Galeti reports that his season is in fact over…
May 21st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
What would the Eagles want for Lito Sheppard? He’s unhappy after they signed Samuel.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Sheppard’s problem is that he’s asking for a new contract and the Browns don’t have too much space left
May 21st, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Yeah, but they are still looking that way according to a source. My guess is they are waiting for the next round of cuts so that they don’t have to give up any picks next year. They may be able to find a decent guy there, if not, pull the trigger for Sheppard.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
It’s still early and the Eagles could theoretically substantially lower their asking price for Lito if they get no bites. There are some game tested safeties available out there, we could always sign them and move Baxter back to corner.
Or in the ultimate irony, we signed Donte Stallworth to trade to Philly to get Lito Sheppard, Eagles fans erupt and burn the city down.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I don’t think that we moved Baxter to Safety because they felt we had a need at safety. We moved him there because he isn’t fast enough anymore to match-up with the best WR’s after his surgeries. Baxter shouldn’t be part of the solution at CB IMO.