However, in his latest “Talkin’” column in Sunday’s Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto says that the Browns are not moving on just yet and are interested in bringing the underrated player and his right foot back for another round.
“The front office is interested,” writes Pluto. “They know Dawson remains one of the NFL’s most underrated kickers. They also know he put his Cleveland-area house up for sale, and believes he was not treated fairly by some of the other previous regimes.”
Dawson has been a holdout through non-mandatory portions of preseason over the past two seasons as he was looking to have his contract re-worked. Conveniently, those were also the same two seasons that were under head coach Eric Mangini – the latter of which was also dealing with an expiring Collective bargaining agreement where very few contracts were updated.
Pluto states that the Browns are in fact looking to make Dawson an offer despite the fact that he has put his home up for sale, but they are looking for a new labor agreement to be in place. If the current CBA expires without a new one in place, there will be a freeze on free agency so the Browns would not fall victim to another team swooping in with a contract offer in the meantime.
“Obviously, all of that can change,” Pluto continues. “But Heckert and the new coaching staff do seem to have a real appreciation for Dawson’s ability to make kicks in Cleveland’s cold temperatures and tricky winds.”
Ask Pittsburgh just how important this skillset is. Given their recent struggles at the placekicker position, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see them make a play for the veteran Dawson – something that would only add salt into the Cleveland wounds in the event they were forced to endure a less-expensive, less-accurate kicker in subsequent years.
Story by: Scott, Waiting For Next Year
As Green Bay Demonstrated the NFL is going pass. Anything to do with pass..
ReplyDeletePass rushers, pass defenders, receivers and most important a QB with an arm and brains.