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reggiebrooks4life wrote:nooooooooooooo........................bad gibbs! bad snyder!!!! this would be a pretty bad signing....in fact, i can't see any positives from it

Brown Scheduled to Visit Redskins Today

By Nunyo Demasio
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2005; Page D03

Defensive end Courtney Brown will visit the Washington Redskins today, according to two sources familiar with the plans, and the club intends to sign him before he departs Redskins Park for other scheduled visits.

Brown, who was released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday after declining a substantial pay cut, spent yesterday with the Denver Broncos for his first visit. According to sources, the Redskins, however, have the best chance of landing Brown. The odds increased last night after the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder departed Denver without signing. Brown also has scheduled visits with the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to a source, although the Browns hope to re-sign him to a lesser contract, he almost certainly won't return to Cleveland.

Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs and defensive coordinator Greg Blache, who oversees the line, reportedly flew to Cleveland on Monday night to meet with Brown and his wife. According to a source with knowledge of the dinner meeting, it went well; and Blache expressed enthusiasm about eventually landing the 27-year-old.

The Redskins have targeted Brown, although the former top overall pick in the 2000 draft has missed 33 games in four seasons from eight injuries. Brown has undergone four operations during that stretch. The Redskins, one source said, will give him a physical today, apparently believing the ailments won't necessarily continue.

Brown never suffered a serious injury when he played at Penn State, where Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington was a teammate. Brown's most significant ailment in college was a dislocated thumb. During his NFL rookie season, he started every game to finish with 4 1/2 sacks and 85 tackles. But beginning in 2001, when he missed 11 games with knee and ankle ailments, Brown was placed on injured reserve each season.

After losing cornerback Fred Smoot to the Minnesota Vikings, the Redskins are about $2 million under the salary cap, enough room to outbid some teams for Brown.

Brown earned $22 million in five NFL seasons, but the Browns released him before a $2.5 million roster bonus was due yesterday. Brown, who has 17 career sacks, was scheduled to receive another $5.5 million in salary.

Redskins Notes: According to sources, wide receiver Santana Moss, who was traded for wideout Laveranues Coles, will sign a rich, multiyear contract befitting a No. 1 wideout. Sources said after the March 5 trade, the Redskins and Moss's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, agreed on the parameters of an extension, and Washington is waiting to announce the deal after creating cap space.

According to one source, who requested anonymity because the new deal hasn't been announced, Moss will average more than the annual salary in Coles's original contract in Washington -- a seven-year deal worth $35 million that included a $13 million bonus. Rosenhaus, whose client was scheduled to earn about $450,000 in 2005, declined to comment last week. . . .

According to sources, wideout Rod Gardner's departure from Washington will be accelerated after Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress, an unrestricted free agent, signs. Cleveland, Minnesota and Seattle were considered probable destinations for Gardner. But Minnesota appears off the list after recently signing wide receiver Travis Taylor. . . .

Gibbs will make four radio appearances today beginning at 7 a.m. to take calls from fans and give information about the Redskins. Gibbs will be on WMZQ-FM-98.7 from 7 a.m. to 7:20 a.m.; WIHT-FM-99.5 from 7:30 to 7:50; WBIG-FM-100.3 from 8 to 8:20 and WTEM-980 at 9:15 a.m. for an unscheduled allotment. Gibbs will end his radio tour after an appearance from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on WJFK-FM-106.7. The Redskins have said Gibbs is making such efforts to "directly interact with fans."

PhillyPhanInDC wrote:Update..
Browns may want to keep him....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2013010

GoSkins wrote:Based on published reports it looks like we will sign Brown tonight or tomorrow. This is fabulous. When healthy this guy is awesome. And I think he will have a great career with us. Apparently he didn't start to suffer injuries until the Browns' coaching staff made him focus on technique rather than instinct. And DL is more instinct than OL which is far more technical. When a DL starts worrying about technique his reactions are not natural and he opens himself up to being in awkward positions.

Gibbs Comments On C. Brown
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
March 16, 2005



Head coach Joe Gibbs said Wednesday that free agent defensive end Courtney Brown is on the Redskins' radar screen and that signing the former No. 1 overall draft pick is a possibility.
"He's planning on visiting a number of teams and we'll see how it plays out," Gibbs said.

It's expected that Brown is to visit Redskins Park this week.

As widely reported earlier this week, Gibbs and defensive coordinator-defensive line coach Greg Blache flew to Cleveland to meet with Brown on Monday.

"We wanted to be one of the teams that had a chance to talk with him," Gibbs said. "We wanted to make sure we made him aware of our interest. And anytime you get a chance to talk with someone, you'd rather do it face to face."

Brown was released earlier in the day on Monday by the Cleveland Browns. He played four seasons in Cleveland and recorded 133 tackles and 17 sacks.

Brown's NFL career has been marred by injuries, including a torn foot ligament last season. He has also had a torn knee ligament among several other ailments.

Asked about how concerned the team is about Brown's health, Gibbs replied: "I think anybody who is dealing with Courtney knows that he would not have been released if it had not been for the physical part. This guy is a very talented player, but he's had a number of injuries and he's been on injured reserve. So anybody interested in him is going to have to check all of the physical stuff and evaluate that."

On Wednesday, the Redskins signed safety Pierson Prioleau, who it turns out is a second cousin of Brown. They grew up in the same hometown of Alvin, S.C.

Brown is also a close friend of Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington. The two played on the same Penn State defense from 1996-99. Coincidentally, Arrington was the second overall selection in the 2000 NFL Draft, behind Brown.

Brown failed a physical before being waived

While it has been widely reported that the Browns waived former No. 1 overall draft pick Courtney Brown this week because he refused to sufficiently downscale his contract to fit the club's salary-cap needs, an interesting and potentially relevant part of the story is that Brown failed a physical before being let go by Cleveland.

Brown, who has drawn quick interest from Washington, suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury to his left foot in Week 2 at Dallas. He underwent surgery shortly thereafter and started his rehab. He failed his year-end exit physical from Cleveland team doctors in early January, which was expected because his recovery isn't supposed to be complete until May 1.

The moral of the story is that whichever team signs Brown, they'll be getting not only a player with a history of injuries and missing games, but a player who isn't expected to be given a clean bill of health for another six weeks or so. Sounds like a rather risky move if the Redskins opt to lock up Brown.