When the Cleveland Browns balked at what wide receiver Terrelle Pryor was looking for in free agency following his ‘breakout’ season in 2016, recording 1000 receiving yards, they decided to let him walk and instead turned to veteran Kenny Britt, who also happened to be coming off of his first 1000-yard season.
That turned out to be a less than excellent idea for both sides. Britt struggled immediately, but there appeared to be more involved than that, and neither party seemed to be particularly happy with the arrangement, so it was little surprise when it ended up that the Browns released him in the middle of the season.
Britt would end up being claimed by the New England Patriots, although he did not exactly play a very big role for them. But he got plenty of opportunity to open his mouth, given that the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl, so all of the players were bombarded with questions for the week leading up to the game.
He was asked if he considered himself lucky that he was picked up by the Patriots, after having played for the Browns, who went 0-16. “I’m pretty sure everybody else would”, he said. “My wife does. I’m glad to get the opportunity to be in a place where I’m well-respected and the guys are glad for me to be here”.
If that sounded like a shot at the Browns, it’s because it was. Britt went on to say that he doesn’t “even think about those times when I was in Cleveland”, that he’s “too busy getting ready for games. We’re still playing”. The split between the two sides was acrimonious, to be sure.
It goes deeper than some might think, though. And it even extends to Britt’s agent. Back in December, he referenced a rumor that Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson was leaking stories to the media, such as that he wanted to draft Carson Wentz, in order to help save his job.
“Coaches that talk to media more than their players <”, he Tweeted, the latter being the ‘less-than’ sign. Basically, he is saying that anything is greater than a coach who leaks stories to the media while not having a relationship with his own players.
In another Tweet later in the same day, he wrote, “another L for a part time HC, Full time Beat Writer”, ending with an exclamation point. Clearly, Fadde Mikhail, said agent, had his issues with the way that his client was treated.
Of course, there are two sides to the story, though we might not ever get to hear the Browns’ side, beyond the mere fact that they felt it was in their best interests to release him while not having a whole lot of other quality options at wide receiver. So maybe this was all sour grapes.
