FanHouse Gary Baxter

It was nearly a year ago that then-Browns lost cornerback Daven Holly blew out his knee in organized team activities. He missed the 2008 season, and his absence, along with Gary Baxter never working out in Cleveland, meant the team had to rely on Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright.

Both were second-year players, and although Wright showed promise, McDonald was out his depth from the start. I wouldn't argue that losing Holly opened the flood gates on a four-win season -- Derek Anderson misfiring balls all over the yard gets the blue ribbon for that -- but it didn't help, either.

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One year removed from a 10-win season, and on the heels of a four-win effort, owner Randy Lerner decided change was in order. He fired head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage and brought in Eric Mangini and George Kokonis.

If the first draft under the new leadership is any indication, the Browns will use the last weekend in April to restock the roster, and eschew high-priced, quick-fix free agents. The previous regime had a healthy mix of the two: Gary Baxter, Eric Steinbach, LeCharles Bentley and Donte' Stallworth were signed as free agents; Kamerion Wimbley, Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn were all high-round draft picks.

This should instill fear in opposing offensive coordinators as they gameplan the Browns. You see, Cleveland has all sorts of potential, particularly on offense, but the secondary, to put it in wildly understated terms, lacks depth.

Leigh Bodden was traded to the Lions this spring, his replacement, Davin Holly was lost for the year during minicamp, and Gary Baxter was recently released. Which leaves Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright as the starting cornerbacks. Both are in their second seasons, and although the team is very high on Wright, McDonald has yet to prove that he can handle the full-time gig.

However things unfold, they're both confident in their abilities. Which is sorta important, I'd think:

"We have a lot of athletic ability," Wright said. "We're ready for the challenge. If guys want to throw at us, they'll be sorry later." ...

"Eric has a high confidence level and so do I," McDonald said. "I came in early for OTAs (in May) and I think I caught on pretty quickly. You're out there on an island. If you do get beat, you have to have a short memory and go on to the next play."

I can't envision how Gary Baxter's career with the Cleveland Browns could've gone more horribly wrong. The former Ravens second-round pick was head coach Romeo Crennel's first big free-agent acquisition after taking the job early in 2005.

In the three seasons since, Baxter played in eight games. Out of a possible 48. He torn the patellar tendons in both knees during Oct., 2006 and hasn't seen the field since. And today, the Browns terminated his contract.

""Last year we were able to hold a roster spot open for Gary as he attempted to make a monumental comeback," said Phil Savage, Cleveland Browns Senior Vice President and General Manager. in the club's press release.

"After he underwent a knee scope last week, we are unfortunately not in a position to hold a roster spot this year. We are releasing Gary today in hopes he will be able to continue his rehab and get back into the NFL, either with another team, or possibly with the Browns. Gary has made tremendous strides thus far and we believe he can play professional football again in the future."

Savage is right in one sense: there will always be a need for cornerbacks in the NFL. Unfortunately, they have to be healthy. As for the Browns, they're down another defensive back after sending Leigh Bodden to Detroit this offseason and losing Daven Holly during minicamp.

If the remaining members of the secondary can stay healthy, that would be splendid, but tackle football being what it is, that's asking a lot. Which is why the offense will need to put up points like it's 2007.

Last month, Browns cornerback Kenny Wright lost a foot race to a couple of law enforcement types -- presumably because he was running with his eyes closed -- and was eventually cuffed and stuffed for, shockingly, evading arrest. He also was found to have marijuana on his person.

Well, the Browns finally got around to releasing the 10-year journeyman, which explains why he wasn't at the team's OTAs today.

With Leigh Bodden now in Detroit, the Browns have a need for depth at cornerback. Frankly, that was the case even with Wright on the roster. According to the Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi, second-year player Eric Wright and Daven Holley lined up as starters during today's practice. Gary Baxter, who's allegedly moving to safety, wasn't healthy enough to participate,

Sometimes fixing the secondary is an indirect process, and that's what Cleveland is hoping for in 2008; they traded for defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams, and have high hopes for young linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Leon Williams. If the Browns' front seven can consistently mount a pass rush and manage to slow up the run (something they haven't been able to do in, well, forever), the four guys playing behind them won't much matter.

When Kenny Wright isn't getting outrun by the nation's fastest police force and posing for handsome pictures, he serves as a defensive back for the Browns. Which goes a long way in explaining why Cleveland's pass defense was so atrocious last season.

Wright has since been released from jail and now the Browns have to decide if they'll release him from Cleveland. According to the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns "are withholding comment on the situation until we can gather more information." For example: "how the hell did Wright get run down by a bunch of cops?"

Question is, will the Browns stand by a player who barely played for them last year in the first year of his three-year contract? He's set to make $730,000 in 2008 and $845,000 in 2009.

Well, considering they sent their best cornerback, Leigh Bodden, to the Lions for Shaun Rogers, Cleveland may be more inclined to keep Wright around. As Cabot points out, though, the Browns don't tolerate off-field silliness well, so having no depth in the secondary -- something the team is very familiar with -- won't preclude them from releasing Wright if they deem he's not worth the trouble.

The Browns are hoping Gary Baxter is finished getting hurt, and second-year cornerback Eric Wright can make the transition to starter. Still, after those two, there isn't a lot depth at the position.

I mentioned earlier that next season will probably be Gary Baxter's last chance to prove that he's a legit cornerback defensive back, something that was pretty much established when he arrived in Cleveland in 2005. Injuries have derailed his career and although he's not completely healthy, the Browns will be relying on him in the secondary. At least it seems that way since they shipped Leigh Bodden to Detroit for Shaun Rogers.

I speculated that maybe the Browns have high hopes that Rogers can improve the pass rush and the concerns about the secondary will, well, be secondary. The problem, though, is that Rogers has a long, distinguished career of underachievement. And although the label isn't unfounded, the question now becomes: can Cleveland find a way to get Rogers to play hard on every down? Some NFL personnel people seem to think so.

''He's going to help them,'' one insider said. ''A lot'' ...

'We couldn't block him,'' one insider said. ''He gave us fits,'' another said.

League folks don't dismiss the weight issue, but they do maintain that a big guy occasionally can look like he's being lazy when he's just being big. Which means big guys don't always move fast or with great grace. Which means that what looks like taking a play off might not be that.

Head coach Romeo Crennel apparently has a knack for getting the most out his players (Charlie Frye would disagree). We'll see. Rogers should keep Crennel plenty busy, and for a guy who's known just as much for being lazy as immovable, giving him a shiny new deal that includes $20 million in guarantees seems risky.

One of Romeo Crennel's first moves after landing the Browns gig was to go out and sign former Ravens cornerback Gary Baxter to a six-year, $30 million deal, including a $10.5 million signing bonus. In the three years since, Baxter tore his pectoral muscle, and the patella tendons in both knees, and played in just eight games (none last season).

Baxter was signed to shore up Cleveland's woeful secondary but obviously, he hasn't been able to do much from the sidelines.

"This is very important for me to sign a one-year deal here and to finish something I started,'' Baxter said. ''This has been a long process but right now everything is going well and I'm going to continue my quest to make history. Both Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel brought me back and that shows a lot of loyalty and respect on the Browns' behalf. They know how hard I've been working. I'm running and feeling good - I'm putting in everything I've got. Things are looking very positive.''

Whether the Browns think Baxter will be completely healthy -- and more importantly, can contribute -- is another issue. Trading Leigh Bodden, the Browns' best defensive back, might indicate that the team has high hopes for Baxter, or maybe they think that Shaun Rogers' presence will improve the pass rush and mitigate the secondary issues.

This assumes, of course, that Rogers won't take every other play off, which is why the Lions wanted to get rid of him in the first place.

And the game of cat-and-mouse continues. The Browns hired former Ravens front-office type Phil Savage in 2005, and players like punter Dave Zastudil, cornerback Gary Baxter, running back Jamal Lewis and quarterback Derek Anderson have all followed.

The tide is turning, however: Baltimore will interview Browns' offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski for Brian Billick's old job.

Under the 39-year-old Chudzinski, the Browns had two 1,000-yard receivers (Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Jamal Lewis). Quarterback Derek Anderson, who began the season as a backup, threw 29 touchdown passes.

Actually, I'm guessing this has little to do with payback, and everything to do with making the Ravens a competent offensive team. Of course, it's not unheard of for an organization to interview a rival coach with the express purpose of gaining a few behind-the-scenes insights. Given that Baltimore and Cleveland are already pretty familiar with one another, I can't imagine this to be the case.

If anything, this is recognition that Chudzinski did an amazing job with the Browns this season. The decision to bench Charlie Frye certainly helped, but I feel confident in writing that Maurice Carthon wouldn't have had this much success.

Chudzinski still has to be a long shot for the Ravens gig. Not so much because he's an unknown, but because everybody's a long shot: the team is interviewing 28 other candidates.

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I can't blame head coach Romeo Crennel for saying nice things about the team's newest signee, former Steelers bust second-round pick, cornerback Ricardo Colclough. But this is laying on a bit thick:

"He's a young kid who has a lot of ability," Crennel said. "I remember him when he came out. We had him (in for an interview) in New England. He has some return ability as well, so we're going to take a look at him. We think he's going to be able to help."

Apparently, the Browns were also surprised that Colclough was available on waivers, indicating to me that they never actually saw him play. The only question I had was what took so long.

To be fair, Cleveland has had a slew of injuries: cornerback Gary Baxter made his annual trip to the IR last week, and Leigh Bodden has been battling nicks and bruises all year. So, yeah, from that perspective, Colclough does add depth. But when Crennel suggest that Colclough has "some return ability," it makes me think the Browns head coach is due a drug test.

By the way, I mentioned that the Browns face the Steelers next week, and signing Colclough might have something to do with that, but Crennel calls the signing a coincidence. If anything, playing Colclough against Pittsburgh would benefit the Steelers more than the Browns. I mean, they've been burning him in practice for more than three years now.