It's funny how things quickly seem to coincide with each other, doesn't it? Seeing as Terry Pluto's Sunday articles are usually posted on cleveland.com on Saturday nights, I headed over there around 10:30 p.m. to see his latest piece. This week, Pluto talks about the important role that Lewis will play with the Browns this year.
Pluto provides some nice statistics on when Lewis had a higher yards-per-carry average, including how many touches it took him to get going (proving the oft-made statement that Lewis gets "stronger as the game goes on"). Here's the part that relates to my introduction sentence though:
Behind Lewis, the Browns have Jason Wright and Jerome Harrison. Both have some ability, but neither can compare to Lewis in terms of being a back that can carry a team for long stretches. It would be scary for the Browns to lose Lewis for a long stretch.
The Associated Press announced that former Detroit Lions running back Kevin Jones had four teams attend his workout Saturday. Those four teams were Miami, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and (funny enough) Detroit. However, another team was partially thrown into the mix: the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns also called, [Dr. D.S.] Ping said, and asked for a video of the workout.
Jones, a former first-round draft pick, would be a definite upgrade over Wright and Harrison. He caught 61 passes for 520 yards during the 2006 season. I'd like to believe that Harrison could be our pass-catching running back/third-down running back, but I heard the Browns coaches praise him last year only to see him end up on the bench again.
Kevin Jones would provide more insurance behind Jamal Lewis.
Jones doesn't appear physically apt to being a starter: the past three years, he's played in 13, 12, and 13 games. His talent hasn't degraded though, and his presence would be very valuable in case of an injury to Lewis.
Jones' performance was reportedly very impressive during his workout too: he ran the shuttle in 4.3 seconds on wet grass.