Josh Cribbs, sure, but at what price?

The Miami Dolphins talked to the Cleveland Browns about Joshua Cribbs last season -- once for sure in the days and weeks before the October trade deadline and perhaps once another time much earlier.

Obviously the Browns, which traded away talent like it was going out of style, didn't budge on trading Cribbs. But all that may change now.

The Browns have a new football czar in Mike Holmgren and apparently Cribbs and his agent have gotten the message that a new contract is not in the immediate offing for perhaps the most outstanding and electric return man in the NFL.

So Cribbs believes he's played his final game in Cleveland. "Thanks everyone," Cribbs wrote this week on his twitter feed. "I love playing for the browns (sic) & put my all in to (sic) it, but it doesn't look good 4me(sic)  at this point on (sic) returning. I don't believe I made the to do list for the team in 2010."

Why does Cribbs believe he's gone? Because on-going negotiations yielded an offer from Cleveland that would have paid him approximately $1.4 million per season over the next six years with approximately $400,000 to sign. I must say that's a lowball offer.

And Cribbs agrees. "I'm sorry guys," he said. "I don't want to seem greedy but fair is fair and there is no way around that. I'm the best at what I do but the lowest paid ..."

So Cribbs intends to request a trade on the first day of the new league year and hold out if he doesn't get one.

"We’re going to formally put in a request for a trade,” agent J.R. Rickert told NFL.com. “He will not set foot in that facility again. If they had offered even something like $2.5 million per season we could have worked with them, but to me this offer is indefensible."

The fact of the matter is this is Mike Holmgren's first contract squabble in Cleveland. I doubt he wants to lose it. The fact is Cribbs is over-performing on a contract that has three years remaining. The fact is both sides have good leverage.

So don't be surprised if the Browns try to turn this mess into a draft pick with which Holmgren can bring in "his guy."

Enter the Miami Dolphins.

As we know, they need dynamic playmakers because there are precious few of those on the team. They could stand an upgrade at punt returner and kick returner. They could also use Cribbs in the Wildcat package, which he ran quite effectively in Cleveland. He averaged 6.9 yards per rush in 2009.

Oh, and did I mention Cribbs took snaps as a wide receiver also? He caught a modest 20 passes for 135 yards but obviously that is not his primary value.

His primary value is special teams. He returned three kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns this season. He has 10 return TDs in five seasons.

The downside is the guy does fumble. He had six fumbles in 2009 while fulfilling all his various duties. For perspective, you should know Davone Bess led the Dolphins with six fumbles in 2009.

So should the Dolphins be interested in Cribbs? Of course, they would be. But would they pull the trigger on a trade that would also involve paying the guy a new contract? That another matter.

If all Cribbs wants is $2.5 million per year, you should know the Dolphins are paying Ted Ginn Jr. an average of $3.5 million per year. Which is the better player?

And if the Browns are asking a second- or third-round pick for Cribbs, it probably sounds like an exceedingly high price to pay. But I remind you second- and third-round picks don't always turn into good players.

The Dolphins spent a second round pick on Pat White last year. They also spent a third round pick on Patrick Turner. Neither contributed very much, if at all, in 2009.

So what would you do?

Comments

[JasonScramble]

Parcells liked Pat White and Quincy Carter...

Posted by: Marc | January 07, 2010 at 12:37 PM
==============================================

Oh boy, forgot about that one. I've been out of the loop on Parcells.

Can anyone tell me the players HE actually drafted that are superstars right now? Or just the top 3 or 4 players still kicking butt in the NFL.

[cuban menace]

Three Questions you must ask of Mr. Cribbs #1, Does he fall down alot?#2)Does he run towards the sideline alot? #3)And if he does fall down does he go into a fetal position Ala Ted(hands of stone)Ginn??, he all answers are NO offer the browns the entire Ginn clan(His clip board holding daddy, his cousin rufus, the human blocking dummie and his sister Tednisha, the teams ahhhhhhh well we all know what she is..)....

[Indiana Dolfan]

I agree with the CFL signings. It just makes no sense and we get no explanations from coaches or management...

[Indiana Dolfan]

Cuban - Good one! I like that!

Anyways I am out ladies (JOSH) and gentlemen (everyone else)!

[bobbyd12]

HELLO!!!! Bill Parcells will not be trading the number 12 pick unless he feels he can can two or three lower picks for it...That's a fact, that's how he always operates AND he will not be going for Brandon Marshall or anyother receiver who has attitude problems...So my question is why do people continue to WASTE everyone elses space on this blog for nonsense...look at Bill Parcells past record and realize what he is NOT going to do..And if u don't think there is value at the number 12 pick u need to be on a learning football blog

[Jrv007]

Prepare for the worst hope for the best... That's the theme this offseason...

[carlito from golfito]

Cribbs is a good player, but he is not worth trading a high draft pick. I wouldn't mind a Cribbs for Ginn trade straight up, but I would rather the Fins trade Ginn for a pick.

I am excited about the prospect of the Dolphins getting one of these players with the 12th pick:

Rolando McClain
Dan Williams
Derrick Morgan
Dez Bryant
CJ Spiller

[cuban menace]

Isnt the Ginn clan from Ohio anyway???Doesn't Daddy ginn own the "House of wheels bicycle shop"?????SEND THE GINNS BACK TO OHIO!!!!!!!!

[carlito from golfito]

That whole damn family has been figuratively sleeping on Dolphins couch and eating out of the fridge for too long... I agree with Cuban... get these leaches out of town!

mooches

[ALoco]

ted ginn did more than all these players put together;

wilson
crowder
jt
turner
fasano
white
porter
hartline.....you guys need to lern to be fair to ted ginn .

[cuban menace]

Aloco, Quit eating your formented meat balls...

[ALoco]

to learn to be fair.you sound like bunch of fainted goats wearing sandals .

[carlito from golfito]

Hartline is way better than Ginn... had had more receptions, yards and touchdowns. The kid is tough and a playmaker.

Aloco, please stop trying to confuse the farmers, they are busy enough with Brandon Marshall

[cuban menace]

Aloco, Is it true that vernon(big belly)Carey is collaborating with you on a cook book??

[JasonScramble]

AND he will not be going for Brandon Marshall or anyother receiver who has attitude problems..

Posted by: bobbyd12 | January 07, 2010 at 05:09 PM
=========================================

Didn't he want T.O. in Dallas?

[carlito from golfito]

Jasonscramble,

No dude, T.O. is why Parcells left Dallas, because Jerry Jones forced him on the Tuna

[cuban menace]

Jason, Actually that was the nail in the coffin, It was jerry(Liver spots)Jones that wanted him, Parcells wanted nothing to do with him...

[carlito from golfito]

"They want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries."

-Bill Parcells on T.O.

[Bruce's Mom]

Pure genius from Josh:

"...PORTER, AND CAMARILLO WITH A SECOND, IS GREAT!! GIVES US THE CAP ROOM.."

"So you want to keep EXPENSIVE PORTER? who is a shell of his former self? You want to keep Camarillo, who is 4th on our roster, who you going to draft in the second round, that is better than Marshall???"

Over and over, trade Porter, Camarillo and a second for Marshall.

Personally I think it is a great idea. If Denver would be dumb enough to re-sign and trade Marshall for a second, an old overpriced Porter and a decent Camarillo then pull the trigger. Only a dipsh*t would think Denver would be so dumb as to make this deal. Nobody is going to trade for Porter!! But yeah, we'll get Denver to take him off our hands and also give us Marshall for a second and Camarillo!! LMFAO, what a genius.

[carlito from golfito]

Cuban Menace,

What do you think of the newest escapades of Rex Ryan, saying that the Jets should be favored to win the super bowl?

[cuban menace]

He's been spending to much time at the Buffet table.....If weight was a drug Rex(two ton)Ryan would be Crack........But then again defense wins super bowls and they are playing well..

[Bruce's Mom]

More genius from Josh:

"GOD no waunder why our team sucks. Our fans are just stupid."

If only the fans had made better personnel decisions and played better, THEN our team would kick butt!!

[carlito from golfito]

yeah, no waunder...

[Gmanfedup]

A lot of talk about qbs and return guys but no lbs and wide recievers.

[ALoco]

Bruce's mom ? is a good name for diner worker cooking garlic bread all day long .

[KillerFin]

TRADE GINN & PAT WHITE FOR CRIBBS!!!

[ALoco]

cuban, did you learn how to swim last few months as you have told us earlier ?

[cuban menace]

Aloco, Grew up in Miami, I can swim like.. Like.. Well like a Dolphin, What about that book with Big Belly, Is it true???

[ALoco]

cribbs ISN'T EASY TO REPLCE .HE'S NOT GOING ANY WHERE .PERIOD .

[Kris]

Sign Marshal, keep Ginn (maybe), unless we can do a 1 for 1 trade for Cribbs, nothing extra. Sign Bess to a long term while he is still cheap, he will be a star elsewhere alah WES WELKER.

[Bruce's Mom]

You spying on me ALoco? It is really rather odd that you know what I do for a living.

[ALoco]

TRIPA ......W/ROMANO CHEESE IS VERY GOOD.

HIS TASTE OF IS WAY DIFFERENT FROM MINE .HE LIKES HOMEY FATY FOOD LIKE PIGS .
I LIKE MORE OF DUCKS AND PHEASNT .

[cuban menace]

New blog up........

[greg z.]

talk about fainting goats; did you see nate jones on a db blitz untouched to big ben when he suddenly freezes and falls on his butt like a "fainting goat". our D got worse instead of better as the wore on. bad personnel decisions, wasted draft picks and poor coaching are to blame. hate to admit the hated jets have better blitz schemes and pressure. we are having alot of trouble tackling and only recovered 6 fumbles the WHOLE YEAR!!!!!

[Bendiesel]

Easy.. GET CRIBBS! pay him the 2.5 mill and get rid of ginn some how.. Definitely get cribbs we need bc we don't have any explosive players. Getting someone in the draft is a risk and cribbs is proven.

[mike]

why on earth would cleveland trade cribbs for ginn straight up? everyone that ever saw a fins game knows that ginn is soft. and the only reason they'd take that trade is if ginn cuts his pay in half. and we all know that ain't happnen. and I'm not a fan of tradign draft picks which we'll have to package with ginn if that trade is in the offering. so... ginn and a 3rd rounder?... that would amount to a 1st (9th overall) and a 3rd round pick for a return guy.. and that seems pretty pricy if you ask me. if we're going to spend money and pics on a player - it should be a top flight receiver - a player we'd use 10 times a game instead of 2 or 3. back to the drawing board.

[mike]

another thought... referring to Mr. CAPS (josh)... as soon as we act like we MUST trade to get player X... we're immediately on the shite end of the negotiation stick. if the value isn't there (9th over all plus a 3rd for Cribbs-NOT!)... here's a notion.. DON'T MAKE THE DEAL! our maneuvers must all have "VALUE"... and where that's not possible... we don't make the move and instead, focus on other areas of concern. We may have to wait until next year for that top flight WR and settle for a ball hawk safety or LB. GO FINS!

[Dolphins4life]

Indianfan

You need to read it a little better. He suggest that of course the Dolphins should be interested in Cribbs...and that a 2 and 3rd rounder sound exceedingly high but look at White2nd round and turner 3rd round those picks dont always turn into good players. So what does that entertain? that maybe he would be willing to give up a 2 and 3rd round picks? More or less but to even entertain that notion is bad train of thought, bottom line. Even if the [players are whom ever you dont trade picks if your still in rebuilding mode. get it? got it? good.

[mike]

good it... got it... GREAT! lol - understood my fin's bretheren! DAMN I love a good football conversation. what I didn't mention in my dissertation was that there's 1 major benefiting factor with a trade for Cribbs... that what you're getting is PROVEN - that you KNOW what you're getting - unlike a draft pick. so with that in mind, one MIIGHT be inclined to "overpay" for a player just because you're "pretty" sure that you're upgrading. but then again... and as was mentioned earlier in this post... sometimes these players have great season, and then - when WE get then (as always seems the case with the Fins), they fizzle out and you end up with ted ginn-PLUS kind of player. that, for a 9th over all plus a 3rd rounder - OWCH! value?... not so much. the dolphins have made a career of making these kind of trades - going all the way back to the years of the "don". ya'll might remember the first free agent signing EVER?.. keith jackson!!! now THAT was a proper pickup! but then we followed that up with Eric Green - OISH! and what a year he had!... that'd be the year BEFORE we got him. so the up and down, the in and out and the over and under of it all is that we all don't know diddly-shite! and the tuna - well, he knows just a little bit more. GO FINS!

[downer12]

If Miami trades any picks for a player...the player better be Brandon Marshall.Marshall has had some issues but the Tuna can handle him.Randy Moss had issues before he went to the Pats.Every team has a player that needs some extra effort and Marshall is worth It.Marshall going to Miami would do nothing but make the team better...his issues really aren't bad and he's not the only player that doesn't get along with his coach.Marshall would be worth trading our 1st pick...he's a stud period.He's better then any WR we could draft and. McClain probably wont be available with the #12 pick...Tuna needs to get Marshall and do his job of getting Marshall to buy into our system...that's why we pay Bill for.Any coach can get easy players to buy into a system, but the great ones get the stud players with a past to buy in and change.

[TexFin]

Mando,
I know you secretly mut be Ginn's PR guy. I agree we need a No. 1 receiver and it is a priority (although I probably wouldn't put it as the number 1 priority like you would like to) - I know you hate to admit that linebackers are probably the No.1 priority and probably a FS is No. 2. BUT - Cribbs is a REAL stretch here - not worth the value - let someone else get him. The Fins need a legit No.1 big guy and they should (and I know you disagree) keep Ginn to stretch the field and return kicks. Besides if any NFL scouts read your blog we would be lucky to get a pack of gum for Ginn.

[downer12]

True Brandon has had some issues but I really don't consider him a diva.He doesn't have these huge acted out TD celebrations or on Twitter all day....Marshall doesn't really call out his QBs at all.I think the real divas are Owens,Ocho, even a little of Roy Williams.I consider Steve Smith to be a Guy that just loves to compete and win...He wants everyone on the field to play as hard as he does...so I don't think Steve is a diva either.After Marshall broke that reception record he didn't even think about a celebration...he was only worried about losing the game.I think people jump to label a WR a diva because of what they have seen from a couple real bad WRs.Players Like Andre Johnson just don't come around that often...he's truly special but also not available.Marshall would be exactly what we need in Miami...this Guy breaks tackles,gets YAC,has great hands, and is just a tough beast ha We would be crazy to pass him up over some issues that hes grown from and moved on as a man.

[Inimounts]

Texfin, did u just say keep ginn? As our 1? Uhhh people have u eve watched football? Ginn is the worst one in the league. I would only keep hartline. People, we har only heard a couple weeks that we needed lbs we have always needed wr. We have te worst receiving core in te league. The ones with the best....bengals, cardinals, giants, saints, colts, cowboys, packers, what are they doing in January? Ginn needs to be gone and it's time to get real.

[PhinsFan]

Ginn needs to be out because he's scared to get hit but not sure that I've seen Cribbs turn to the middle of the field and take on anyone instead of being a pansy like Ginn and running out of bounds. But I'd take Cribbs over Ginn any day, hell, he might be able to catch too.

[PhinsFan]

Also, I agree Brandon Marshall would be the bomb.

[Michael N]

Ginn and a 3rd.

[dcorlando]

Ginn and White for Cribbs

[Chuck, fan since 1970]

Oh good another punt returner, How about a wide receiver one that is really fast and not ted ginn fast I mean really fast and someone who is not afraid to catch the ball punt returner do not win football games OK maybe once but good wide receivers catch footballs in the end zone and don't drop them.........
GET RID OF GINN FAST I MEAN RELLY FAST GET THE POINT