Kamerion Wimbley is my favorite player.
Seriously. Never mind that the guy has yet to play a down for the Browns.
Heck, he still needs to make the transition to outside linebacker—the position
the former defensive end is slated to play when the season starts in September.
But when Wimbley signed a six-year contract last week, to become the first
player this side of Mario Williams to sign from the first round of the 2006
draft, I was hooked. I mean, what's not to like about a slippery quick,
245-pound speed rusher who lives clean, plays hard, and respects the game?
Feeling a touch of déjà vu? That's not a glitch in the Matrix, it's just the
icy claw of cold coincidence taking hold of your brain stem. Remember the last
time the Browns managed to ink a first-round draft pick before the start of
camp? I do. It was 2000, and we were all gushing over a 6-4, 270-pound speed
rusher by the name of Courtney Brown. Brown was a prototype defensive end—the
thinking man's Bruce Smith—who lived clean, played hard, and respected the game.
Instead, he spent more time hitting the IR than QBs and eventually emerged as
the most disappointing of the Browns' many draft busts since 1999. Unlike Tim
Couch, Gerard Warren, William Green and Jeff Faine, Courtney Brown actually had
it all—the talent, work ethic, game smarts, and raw, physical attributes to play
at the highest level. He really was that good. He just couldn't stay on the
field.
Not that history is doomed to repeat itself with Wimbley. After all, there is
no comparing the cap damage wrought by a #1 overall pick to that produced by a
#13 selection. For example, this year's top draft pick—Mario Williams—signed a
six-year, $54 million deal, with $26.5 million guaranteed, while Wimbley's
six-year haul is $23.7 million, with $9.3 million guaranteed. Even if Wimbley
busts, he won't take the entire franchise down with him.
The good news keeps getting better. The Browns negotiating team must be
staying at a Holiday Inn Express, because Savage and company have signed just
about everyone this side of the team janitorial staff. (The janitors held out
for more guaranteed money and got shipped to San Francisco for some old Joe
Montana-era game tapes). On Sunday, the Browns closed out everyone but
third-round pick Travis Wilson. Most impressive, second-round pick D'Qwell
Jackson, who pundits feared might hold out, will be attending Monday's rookie
camp. A lot of folks expect Jackson to quickly step into a starting role at
inside linebacker.
And man, is it ever good to be clear of the ugliness brewing in New Orleans.
Reggie Bush is already threatening to sit out the entire year, so he can
re-enter the NFL in the 2007 draft. According to reports, the two sides have
barely even talked, much less tried to negotiate a deal. You gotta wonder if
Butch Davis isn't holed up in a FEMA trailer somewhere, advising Saints
management on how to deal with Bush's agent.
None of that matters, of course. We just signed my favorite player.