Gary Baxter Terminated

by kjc on Aug 9, 2008 7:53 PM EDT

[Gary Baxter's] improbable nearly two-year comeback from two severely damaged knees -- one of the most remarkable injury stories in the history of the Browns, if not the NFL overall -- has been brought to a halt.
"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 a statement released by the team on Saturday afternoon. "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."

Link (Official Site)

I can understand why we terminated his contract completely and I agree with the move... We can't afford to waste roster spots especially if we need to carry 2 fullbacks and maybe 4 tight ends. We can't afford to keep extra players around just in case they make a comeback.

They did say they might bring him back if he gets healthy and if we do, fine, but if not I am not going to be upset by it. I hope he makes a comeback, and if he does, great. I just don't see him doing it as a Brown.

Edit by Chris: Promoted to front page and added quote by Phil Savage.

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The chances of seeing LeCharles Bentley and Gary Baxter playing for the Browns ever again seem to have faded now. That’s really unfortunate, because the majority of Browns fans were rooting hard for Baxter to return since Day 1 (of his injury).

The hope at least still exists that Baxter could return to the Browns at some point, but if we’re confident that he won’t be back this year (or eve by Week 6 or something), then releasing him is definitely the right move. It’ll be interesting to see what position we seek out to take his roster spot now. At this point, it’s probably not worth bringing another QB along, but that and fullback are the areas where our roster spots are low.