BEREA – Will he or won’t he?
Will Braylon Edwards make his 2006 debut this Saturday against the Bills?
That is the question that Browns fans want to know.
“We’ll wait and see what happens tomorrow,” Romeo Crennel said. “Even if I’m
leaning toward playing him it would only be for a couple of plays.”
Crennel said he doesn’t feel there’s a big risk to put him into the game.
“Not really,” he said. “He’s been out at practice and been doing every thing
asked of him.”
Edwards says he doesn’t care if he plays in the preseason or not.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Edwards said. “All that matters to me is
that I’m ready by Sept. 10 (the regular season opener with the Saints).
“Whether I play this week or not isn’t that big of a deal,” he said. “It’s
not like this is a game to go to the playoffs or something.”
Edwards says he doesn’t feel he needs game action to prove that he’s ready.
“It doesn’t bother me because I’m doing everything in practice that I would
do in games,” he said.
Crennel said Edwards has practiced enough to test the knee, including a 25
yard crossing pattern over the middle from Charlie Frye in team drills at the
close of Wednesday’s practice.
“I think he’s gaining more confidence in his knee,” Crennel said. “The more
confidence you get the more things you can do.”
Crennel says he listens to what the player has to say, but primarily looks to
the medical staff.
“You have to listen to your medical staff, first,” Crennel said. “Then, you
have to talk to the player and see where he is mentally.”
Edwards says he wears the brace on his right knee during contact drills, but
takes it off during individual drills.
When asked if he plans on ditching the brace for the regular season.
“That’s the goal.”
Originally, it was thought Edwards might start the season on the Physically
Unable to Perform (PUP) list and miss the first six games of the season. Now, it
appears he is on target to be ready for the start of the regular season.
“We have a good group of receivers,” Crennel said. “I think we might be able
to rotate guys in there and keep them fresh. That’s a good problem to have.”