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Browns suspend Kellen Winslow for 1 game
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-22 15:39 Savage maintains the decision to keep the illness a secret was made with the player's blessing and he defended the Browns' handling of Winslow's hospital stay. "The Cleveland Browns are committed to winning and taking care of our players," he said. "We are also committed to protecting the privacy of our players, particularly with regard to medical issues. To that end, following discussions with Kellen Winslow and his representation, the Browns agreed to make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of his recent medical condition." The Browns have had an alarming number of staph cases, and Savage said the team is doing all it can to protect the health of its players and personnel at the club's training facility in Berea and downtown stadium. Savage said the players have been educated on the risks of staph, and that during training camp the entire team took part in an extensive presentation by infectious disease experts. Winslow's suspension could further damage his already shaky relationship with Savage and the Browns, who moved up in the 2004 draft to select him No. 6 overall. He has been upset with the team for not giving him a contract extension. After catching 82 passes for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns last season and making his first Pro Bowl team, Winslow hired Rosenhaus, who used the week in Hawaii to make it known that he intended to get his client a new deal. Winslow has three years remaining on his deal, which was reworked in 2006. He's making $4 million this season and has base salaries of $4.5 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010. Winslow broke his right leg during his second game as a rookie and missed the remainder of the season. While he was recovering, he sustained life-threatening injuries when he crashed his motorcycle doing stunts in a parking lot. The Browns paid him more than $11 million for his first two seasons. Winslow got a staph infection following surgery on his right knee, but before missing the Browns' Oct. 13 game against the New York Giants, he had made 36 straight starts and developed into one of the NFL's premier tight ends. Despite being double-teamed at times, he has a team-high 21 receptions for 187 yards this season. The 25-year-old Winslow, who has had to endure grueling rehab sessions and constant pain just to play the past three seasons, had seemingly matured before Sunday's unexpected outburst. "He has made progress from the time that I have been here," Crennel said. "The thing that we sometimes don't understand is the pressure that a young man like that has on him when he gets injured or is not able to play or what he thinks about his future and there are a lot of things going through his mind." |
