According to an exclusive report over at the OBR, Browns returner and all-around specialty man Joshua Cribbs is set to skip the Browns' first "voluntary" minicamp this Tuesday.
Reportedly, Cribbs is upset at the lack of progress that has been made over a new contract. One of the OBR's sources seems to sum up the predicament pretty clearly:
One Browns source stated that "the team is having a hard time figuring out a value to place on what Josh brings to the team. He's obviously a tremendous football player, a tremendous asset to the team and to the city, but we all just have to find some type of way to gauge financially what is acceptable in relation to what he does and to the [salary] cap."
After the 2007 season, the Browns signed Cribbs to a six-year deal with a contract that was considered a steal. In football, there is no such thing as a six-year steal; a holdout can quickly tempt management to up the ante. Cribbs is set to have a base salary of $620,000 in 2009.
The OBR also states that Cribbs is not necessarily looking for a new contract before he returns to practice. If he is satisfied with the progress being made in negotiations, we could see him with the rest of the gang before we know it.