A few months ago, Grant Brisbee of the SBNation network released an article titled “Jose Ramirez is the Indians.” Immediately, it’s intriguing. And the title? Well, it barely makes sense at first. But once you look into the piece you’ll find that it is undeniably true. The basic point of the entire piece is that Ramirez is a microcosm of the entire Cleveland Indians organization. That is to say, he’s great at what he does; at the time, the Indians were going for their 20th straight win. So if Jose Ramirez is the Cleveland Indians, then wide receiver Kenny Britt is the Cleveland Browns.
Kenny Britt Is The Cleveland Browns
The Principle of Players Seeming Like a Good Idea at the Time
In both the NFL Draft and the free agency period, the Cleveland Browns have a penchant for making bad decisions. However, a lot of these decisions are ones that seemed like a good idea at the time. Let’s start back in 1999, when the New Browns began. In fact, let’s start all the way back at the 1999 NFL Draft. When reading nearly any mock draft written at the time, Tim Couch was still the number one pick, even though six-time Pro Bowler Donovan McNabb was selected right after him. Take a wild guess who had the better career.
What’s perhaps most depressing about Britt is that he is in a long line of wide receiver pickups for the Browns. Wide receivers that, again, seemed like a good idea when they signed in free agency. First on the list is Donté Stallworth, who signed a seven-year, $35 million dollar deal in Cleveland. He only played one year of that deal, and then was released after being charged with manslaughter. Dwayne Bowe also signed in Cleveland and had five catches during his lone season with the Browns. After losing Terrelle Pryor, the Browns needed a tall, veteran receiver to fill the void. And Britt seemed like a really good idea at the time.
Consistently Inconsistent
Throughout his career, the one thing that Kenny Britt has been consistent with, has been his ability to be inconsistent. As a rookie, he played all 16 games, and had 42 receptions for 701 yards. That’s pretty promising, right? But, he never really improved in his sophomore NFL season. That year he posted numbers of 42 receptions and 775 yards, in the 12 games that he played. Right after that things started to go a bit downhill.
During the 2011 season, Britt tore his ACL and MCL, so of course, he gets a pass for his awful stats that year. In 2012, though, he was suspended for one game, and only had 589 yards for the entire season. After 2013, a season where he had less receptions than games played, Britt signed with the (then) St. Louis Rams. Through 2014 and 2015, he carried on with his average numbers. But then, in 2016, something magical happened. Behind the quarterbacking crew of Case Keenum and a rookie Jared Goff, Britt had, inexplicably, the best season of his career.
With 68 total receptions, 15 games played (and started), and 1,002 yards, Britt looked like a great receiving option while with the Rams. Then, he hit the market as a free agent. Again, the loss of Terrelle Pryor created a gaping hole at receiver for the Browns. Coming off the best season of his career, Britt scored a four-year, $32.5 million dollar contract in Cleveland. And performing as his consistently inconsistent self, Britt has eight total receptions for 121 yards in four games played.
Organizational Dysfunction
Since their 1999 season, the Browns have been a perfect model of dysfunction in the National Football League. It makes sense that there would be some infighting over Kenny Britt, even going back to the days before his signing. First off, four years and $32.5 million is an absolutely ludicrous contract for a receiver who has had exactly one solid season. Second of all, it seems that the Browns were warned about Britt before they even signed him.
Recently, rumors have arisen about warnings that Cleveland’s defensive coordinator Gregg Williams gave to Browns coaches about Britt. If these rumors are to be believed, then simply put, Browns coaches knew about Britt’s lack of work ethic. They knew about Britt’s consistently disappointing seasons (save for one bright spot). The Browns knew everything they needed to know. And yet, they still chose to sign him to such an albatross of a contract for his talent level. That is truly dysfunctional, and there is no other way to put it.
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