If I said more than he is getting paid today and just ended the post right there, I don’t think there would be any discussion at all. Josh signed a 6 year $6.77 million contract extension after his rookie year in 2005. It keeps him in a Cleveland uniform (obviously) until 2012. In 2006, after being an undrafted free agent, it must have been a great feeling for Josh Cribbs to know that he had a contract for 6 years. My how things can change when you start inching toward and setting records as a special teamer in the NFL. So that is where we are. Josh Cribbs was given a lot of financial security by the previous regime of the Cleveland Browns. They bought low, and now that stock is clearly out-performing the buying price they paid. Sometimes, though, a team can sign too good a deal with a player. Now the meager contract that Cribbs is playing under looks almost dirty with how much value Cribbs has to the Cleveland Browns. So how much is Josh Cribbs really worth?
It can be argued (I have been on record saying it) that if Josh Cribbs wants to renegotiate his deal, he needs to establish a second role on the team other than special teams stud. That isn’t completely accurate. If Josh Cribbs wants a nice raise, I think he has earned it and the Browns would be well-served to give it to him. Then again, if Cribbs wants a major raise like what Devin Hester got, I think he needs to keep working to find a secondary role on the team. So far, this season that is what Josh Cribbs is doing. He flamed out at receiver for the most part. He can run reverses and he can run out of the wildcat. Largely though, Cribbs has yet to establish himself as anything other than a great returner and gunner on special teams coverage plays.
Which brings me to the unavoidable Devin Hester comparison. Devin Hester started his career in 2006 with the Bears.
|
2005 – Devin Hester |
2005 – Josh Cribbs |
| (Not in the league yet. | Kick Returns – 45 – 1094 yards – 1 TDs |
| Punt Returns – 1 – 5 yards – 0 TDs | |
| Receiving – 1 – 7 yards – 0 TDs | |
| Rushing – 0 | |
|
2006 – Devin Hester |
2006 – Josh Cribbs |
| Kick Returns – 20 – 528 yards – 2 TDs | Kick Returns – 61 – 1494 yards – 1 TDs |
| Punt Returns – 47 – 600 yards – 3 TDs | Punt Returns – 6 – 51 yards – 0 TDs |
| Receiving – 0 | Receiving – 10 – 91 yards – 0 TDs |
| Rushing – 0 | Rushing – 2 – 11 yards – 0 TDs |
|
2007 – Devin Hester |
2007 – Josh Cribbs |
| Kick Returns – 43 – 934 yards – 2 TDs | Kick Returns – 59 – 1809 yards – 2 TDs |
| Punt Returns – 42 – 651 yards – 4 TDs | Punt Returns – 30 – 405 yards – 1 TDs |
| Receiving – 20 – 299 yards – 2 TDs | Receiving – 3 – 37 yards – 0 TDs |
| Rushing – 7 – (-10) yards – 0 TDs | Rushing – 9 – 61 yards – 0 TDs |
|
2008 – Devin Hester |
2008 – Josh Cribbs |
| Kick Returns – 31 – 679 yards – 0 TDs | Kick Returns – 44 – 1110 yards – 1 TDs |
| Punt Returns – 32 – 198 yards – 0 TDs | Punt Returns – 28 – 228 yards – 0 TDs |
| Receiving – 51 – 665 yards – 3 TDs | Receiving – 2 – 18 yards – 1 TDs |
| Rushing – 6 – 61 yards – 0 TDs | Rushing – 29 – 167 yards – 1 TDs |
|
2009 – Devin Hester (5 Games So Far) |
2009 – Josh Cribbs (6 Games So Far) |
| Kick Returns – 1 – 26 yards – 0 TDs | Kick Returns – 23 – 654 yards – 1 TDs |
| Punt Returns – 9 – 116 yards – 0 TDs | Punt Returns – 17 – 286 yards – 1 TDs |
| Receiving – 20 – 272 yards – 2 TDs | Receiving – 9 – 39 yards – 0 TDs |
| Rushing – 2 – 11 yards – 0 TDs | Rushing – 12 – 101 yards – 0 TDs |
If Hester continues on this pace for the Bears he will catch 64 passes for just under 900 yards for the season. So what did the Bears accomplish by paying Devin Hester all that money? They got a utility receiver that no longer continues to contribute on special teams. Hester’s deal was for 4 years and $40 million with $15 million guaranteed. His escalators are tied to receptions and yardage I believe. Even still, they took away what Devin Hester built his name doing. It is nice to have a guy who could potentially receive around 1000 yards, but is that worth 10 million per season assuming that he reaches his escalators? These are the things to be wary of with Josh Cribbs.
Josh Cribbs is a great football player. He is worth more than his contract. Still, unless he develops into a real running back or some other position on the field, it will be tough to justify giving him the Devin Hester equivalent contract. And I am guessing that this is where the impasse is between Cribbs’ agents and the Browns. Couple in the fact that Cribbs’ current agent J.R. Rickert isn’t the one who negotiated the original 6-year extension and we understand why the situation is so contentious. Rickert hasn’t made a dime yet from having Cribbs as his client. Rickert can’t get paid until he becomes the agent of record for Cribbs when he signs a new deal or an extension. The old agent got paid on the first deal.
Given all this, I have some questions. What financial ballpark is Cribbs hoping to achieve from a base salary perspective? What kinds of escalators or bonuses is he looking for? What statistics should we assign to those bonuses and escalators? Receiving yards? Rushing yards? Percentage of defensive snaps? When Devin Hester started making a transition it was to become a receiver. After the early games this season with Cribbs at receiver, would he and his agent even want a deal that was tied to receiving metrics?
I love Josh Cribbs as much as the next Browns fan, but re-doing his deal is a complex ordeal right now.
Author: CraigLyndall
Craig Lyndall has been writing about all the Cleveland sports teams at WaitingForNextYear since September 2008. When he isn't, you can find him selling insurance or playing music. Follow WFNYCraig on Twitter.Craig Lyndall has written 338 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
he’s being paid just fine for what it is that he contributes to the team–as a special teams ace who touches the ball roughly 4-5x per game…granted, he’s a beast on both sides of the kicking game, however, he is clearly not better at WR than any of our other WR’s (who are the worst as a unit in the NFL) and he’s not on defense either. The fact that this team is so void of talent only illuminates and makes it seem as if Cribbs is irreplaceable–he’s not. He willfully signed a lucrative special teams based contract extension a couple seasons ago and is being paid accordingly. If he felt he would be worth more in future years he should’ve signed a shorter deal–can’t have it both ways Josh. If the Browns pay him even more and further strangle the salary cap from adding starters to the offense and defense–well then we’ll continue to see 3/4/5 win seasons and no talent whatsoever.
i think the biggest catch-22 with any special teams “ace” is that when you force them to do other things they have less of an impact on special teams. How many starting WRs return punts and/or kicks? not many…i know DeSean Jackson does right now with Philly, but i doubt he will much longer.
when a guy becomes critical to your offense, you don’t want to risk him on special teams…which really just takes away his strongest attribute, right?
i say double his salary, but don’t go near 10 mil per season?!
This is my problem w/ free agency in all spots: Just because 1 team makes a terrible deal (NFL – Hester, MLB – Zito, etc.) all players and agents suddenly think that’s where the bar is set and that they should earn that much or more. Hester’s deal was a bad move by the Bears, and now teams, like the Browns, are paying for it when their players demand “Hester Deals.”
Do I think Cribbs should get more money? Yeah. He plays offense and special teams now. Do I think he should get “Hester Money?” No way! Hester shouldn’t even get “Hester Money.”
It’s never a good thing to know what your co-workers are making but in the NFL you do. Look at the Browns 2009 salaries and you’ll see more than a few names who are being paid far more and contribute far less than Cribbs. You can blame Cribbs, his agent, this evil precedent that’s been set in pro sports to not fulfill a contract but the fact of the matter is that if I were an owner I would want to reward my best employees, not just those that have good agents and average talent.
“So how much is Josh Cribbs really worth?”
Two of the Jets draft picks in 2010!
(Ba-dum-da!)
Great post. I agree that Cribbs needs to establish himself as more than just a special teams guy if he wants to be paid as more than a special teams guy, and last week’s outing against the Steelers might have been a step in that direction. If the Wildcat (Flash) package becomes a regular part of our offense, then Cribbs should clearly be paid more than he is. I think the new regime is smart to try Cribbs at different spots to see where he sticks and then, in the offseason, pay him accordingly.
Maybe next week they’ll finally give him a try at tailback? He runs to daylight better than anyone else in the NFL, after all . . .
Just curious, did I miss where Cribbs and his agent are demanding Hester money? Everything I have read has said that he is not requesting a ridiculous Hester-esque deal.
I think by the end of the season everyone can sit down and bang out a mutually beneficial deal. Mangini and co. will know better how they want to use him moving forward and can pay him accordingly.
Another note about Hester. He only played one side of the special teams ball. I’ve never seen Hester knock anyone out of their shoes as a gunner.
Cribbs is tougher than Hester. He probably has several more years left where he can play special teams as well as contribute to the regular offense. I don’t think you would see the drop off in production with Cribbs that you did with Hester.
just because the Bears signed Hester to a bad contract, does not mean we need to sign Cribbs to a bad contract.
that said, yeah, Cribbs needs a raise.
Cribbs should get all the incentives that Quinn was supposed to get.
I think a deal that guarantees Cribbs about $8M over the life of the contract, say 5/6 years, is well worth it. BUT, that means he has to be on every special teams unit, unless he earns a starting spot at Safety/WR/RB/CB. Otherwise, I can’t see any deal over that max amount of guaranteed money being worth it.