All Sport Report

August 4, 2007 marked the 8th day Brady Quinn didn’t attend training camp for the Cleveland Browns. He also missed the four day rookie orientation for new Browns players prior to Camp. The former Notre Dame star quarterback was a disappointing 22nd draft pick by the Browns after they traded their first pick with Dallas. While it was projected that Quinn, who was a contender for the Heisman trophy, would have been chosen in the top ten of the first round, his low placement was just the beginning of his NFL career disappointments.

While Quinn works out to keep in shape in Arizona, the Cleveland Browns are preparing for the upcoming post-season, which is fast approaching. Meanwhile, Quinn’s agent, Tom Condon, is busy trying to negotiate pay for his client. Quinn isn’t playing for the love of the game. He’s resisting playing until he gets the pay he wants. As a result, he’s alienating his prospective team and teammates, shaking up the possibility for an NFL career, and making himself look a spoiled, selfish brat.

The general manager of the Browns, Phil Savage, has made it clear that negotiations could go on for quite some time. While the Quinn camp is sticking to their guns, the Browns aren’t a team to be bullied. While the Browns would love to have this whole messy debacle behind them, it is looking like nothing is going to be settled at any time in the near future.

While the Browns have claimed they’ve made fair concessions for someone chosen as the 22nd pick of the draft, the Quinn Camp is holding out for premium pay that Brady “deserves” as well as flexibility when it comes to the years signed and other obligations to the Browns team. While there has been no comment from Brady’s agent, the Browns are more than willing to share their thoughts on Quinn and his contract negotiations.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel has shown his distaste for Quinn by refusing to call him by his name. Instead, he refers to him simply as “the Quarterback”. While Quinn would have competed for a starting Quarterback position at camp versus Derek Anderson and Charlie Frye, the rookie QB is so far behind, that Coach Crennel has said it is now a two man race. Honestly, I cannot say I blame the Browns one bit.

You know, I used to like Brady Quinn. I’m a U of M Wolverines fan all the way, but I grew up in an OSU and ND loving home. While I cannot stand OSU, I’ve always had a lot of respect for the Fighting Irish. I followed Quinn’s career and even hoped he’d best OSU QB Troy Smith (who won) for the trophy. Now, I’m kind of glad he didn’t win.

Quinn’s behavior is unwarranted yet typical in an age where you can’t seem to sign a good player without giving them millions of dollars and plenty of “options” to appease them. Still, for a player new to the NFL, Quinn should have to make some concessions just like all the other new players. Instead, he’s content to wait for “his premier deal” to be handed to him on a platter…and possibly lose the chance for any type of NFL career in the process.