Isaiah Crowell - Pro Football Rumors

Browns RB Isaiah Crowell Signs RFA Tender

May 10th, 2017 at 7:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Browns running back Isaiah Crowell has signed his restricted free agent tender, according to his agents as Universal Sports Management (Twitter link).

Because Crowell was tendered at the second-round level, he’s scheduled to earn a non-guaranteed $2.746MM base salary for the 2017 season. While Crowell reportedly drew interest as an RFA earlier this year, it was always unlikely another team would sacrifice a second-round pick in order to add a running back with limited results at the NFL level. Crowell didn’t attend early Cleveland workouts in April (perhaps in something of a mini-protest), but he’s now under contract and set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

Crowell, 24, is coming off the best season of his three-year career, as he posted career highs in carries, rushing yards, and receiving yards while scoring seven touchdowns. He’ll return as the Browns’ lead ball-carrier in a backfield that also includes Duke Johnson Jr., George Atkinson, Darius Jackson, and seventh-round pick Matthew Dayes.

Browns RB Isaiah Crowell Not Attending Workouts

April 22nd, 2017 at 8:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the deadline has passed for restricted free agents to ink offer sheets with rival clubs, Browns running back Isaiah Crowell has yet to sign his second-round RFA tender and is not attending Browns workouts, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Crowell is one of three restricted free agents tendered at the second-round level who hasn’t yet signed his tender, a list that also includes Broncos kicker Brandon McManus and Chargers wide receiver Dontrelle Inman. If and when Crowell does ink the tender, he’ll be scheduled to earn a non-guaranteed $2.746MM base salary for the 2017 season. While Crowell did reportedly draw interest as an RFA earlier this year, it was always unlikely another team would sacrifice a second-round pick in order to add a running back with limited results at the NFL level.

That doesn’t mean Crowell can’t be traded at some point, but he’d need to officially sign his tender before that can happen. The Browns have expressed interest in collegiate backs such as Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, and Joe Mixon throughout the predraft process, so it’s possible Cleveland could use the No. 12 or No. 33 pick on a runner while dealing Crowell away. In addition to Crowell, other backs on the Browns’ roster include Duke Johnson, George Atkinson, and Darius Jackson.

Isaiah Crowell Drawing RFA Interest

March 13th, 2017 at 4:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns placed a second-round RFA tender on Isaiah Crowell but are seeing teams debate potential pursuits of the fourth-year running back. At least three teams have inquired about Crowell, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

It would cost another team a second-round pick to pry Crowell from Cleveland. However, the Browns under their Sashi Brown– and Paul DePodesta-headed leadership have prioritized draft capital. They traded down multiple times from their No. 2 overall perch during the 2016 draft and played a part in a historic trade for Brock Osweiler last week to acquire a second-round pick. So, seeing a team sign Crowell to an offer sheet might interest the Browns despite the team placing that second-round tender on their starting ball-carrier.

Crowell turned in his best season in 2016, rushing for 952 yards and seven touchdowns for the 1-15 Browns. He did so despite the team losing both of its starting guards — Joel Bitonio and John Greco — as the woeful season went along. The Browns also lost Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz to free agency and experienced a litany of quarterback injuries, but Crowell’s 4.8 yards-per-carry mark resided as by far his career-best figure.

Browns Apply Tender To Isaiah Crowell

February 28th, 2017 at 10:07am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have applied the second-round tender to running back Isaiah Crowell, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The one-year tender is worth $2.81MM. However, the two sides are working on a long-term deal with the hope that they can replace the one-year placeholder.

The two sides engaged in “heavy talks” during the season, but in January they were said to be at a “stalemate”. Still just 24, Crowell is mindful of his value, but he only has so much leverage as a restricted free agent.

The three-year veteran, an undrafted free agent from Alabama State in 2014, broke out with 952 yards on 198 carries – good for a robust 4.8 YPC – and seven scores on the ground. He added 40 receptions and 319 more yards as a pass-catching option. Along with wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, Crowell was one of the very few bright spots for Cleveland in the midst of a lousy year.

The second-round tender, in all likelihood, should keep Crowell from winding up elsewhere. This year’s running back class is fairly strong at the top and any team in need of a tailback should be able to meet their needs with a second-round choice.

Browns, Isaiah Crowell At “Stalemate”

January 20th, 2017 at 1:21pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Already nearing a mega-deal to re-sign linebacker Jamie Collins, the Browns are also trying to lock up running back Isaiah Crowell, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The two sides engaged in “heavy talks” during the season, but they’re currently at a “stalemate” and could meet again next week, tweets Rapoport.

Unlike Collins, who will become an unrestricted free agent in March if Cleveland doesn’t re-sign him, Crowell will remain under the team’s control even if it doesn’t re-up him before free agency opens. The 24-year-old will be a restricted free agent, meaning the Browns will be able to offer him a first-round tender (worth around $3.8MM), a second-round tender (~$2.75MM) or a right-of-first-refusal tender (~$1.75MM).

The rebuilding Browns would surely place a high-round tender on Crowell, who was among their few legitimate bright spots in a one-win 2016. The three-year veteran, an undrafted free agent from Alabama State in 2014, broke out with 952 yards on 198 carries – good for a robust 4.8 YPC – and seven scores on the ground. He added 40 receptions and 319 more yards as a pass-catching option.

Along with Crowell, wide receiver Terrelle Pryor – a fellow serious threat on offense – is also without a contract heading into 2017. He’ll be unrestricted, but given the Browns’ boatload of cap space (an NFL-high $109MM-plus), they should be able to keep their top unsigned performers in the fold this offseason.

Extra Points: Foles, Redskins, Orr

July 17th, 2016 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Parks

Nick Foles, currently listed as the Rams‘ No. 3 quarterback on the team’s depth chart (per Roster Resource), is a prime trade candidate, and as Vincent Bonsignore of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets, nothing has changed in that regard. Bonsignore notes that, barring a last-second trade, the plan is to bring Foles to training camp and to wait for another club to have a need open up at quarterback as a result of injury or underperformance. At that time, Los Angeles hopes to deal Foles to such a quarterback-needy team. And, because the Rams already paid out Foles’ guaranteed $6MM roster bonus, an acquiring club would only be on the hook for Foles’ $1.75MM base salary, which is certainly a palatable figure for a backup quarterback. Also, since the $6MM roster bonus is already a sunk cost, the Rams could simply cut Foles if they cannot find a trade partner during camp.

Now let’s take a look at a few more notes from around the league:

The Redskins‘ cornerback competition will be a fascinating one to watch this summer, as Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com writes. Tandler observes that the maximum number of corners Washington can keep without creating a major numbers squeeze elsewhere is five, and Josh Norman, Bashaud Breeland, Kendall Fuller, and Quinton Dunbar are all virtual locks to make the club. That means that the team will have to cut a player it would prefer to keep, or else try to sneak such a player onto its practice squad. Dashaun Phillips, Greg Toler, and rookie Lloyd Carrington will all battle for that fifth spot, and Toler is the only member of that trio without practice squad eligibility.
Ravens‘ third-year inside linebacker Zach Orr will be under the microscope in training camp, as Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes. Orr is currently the favorite to start alongside fellow ILB C.J. Mosley, but despite the fact that his playing time increased late in the 2015 season, he is still largely unproven. If he should struggle, the Ravens could turn to Albert McClellan, Arthur Brown, or (more likely) a free agent.
After Isaiah Crowell made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week, many Browns fans have clamored for his release. Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, however, confirmed that Cleveland will not cut Crowell at this time. She says the club believes his public apology was sincere and adds that the Browns will give him a chance to be part part of the solution instead of the problem. Crowell will be donating $35K to the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation and will continue doing “other things in the community” to atone for his mistake.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com continues his ongoing series on each club’s best and worst contracts. In his opinion, Tashaun Gipson‘s five-year, $36MM deal is the most team-friendly contract on the Jaguars‘ books, while Julius Thomas‘ five-year, $46MM contract is the worst.

Browns Have No Plans To Cut Isaiah Crowell

July 12th, 2016 at 10:53am CST by Zachary Links

Last week, Browns running back Isaiah Crowell made headlines when he made an Instagram post depicting a police officer being stabbed in the neck by a person in a black hood. Since then, Crowell has apologized for publishing the picture on social media. While the Browns are troubled by Crowell’s actions, they have no plans to release him, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer.

“We have spoken to Isaiah regarding his extremely disturbing and unacceptable social media decision,” the Browns said in the statement. “It was completely inappropriate and we have made him aware of our high level of disappointment. Isaiah has apologized but also knows that just an apology is insufficient and that he must take steps to make a positive difference after a very negative and impactful post.”

The Browns do not intend on releasing the 23-year-old, but there could still be discipline on the way from the team. However, the team first wants to give Crowell a chance to redeem himself before potentially taking action, Cabot writes. Meanwhile, the NFL seems satisfied with Crowell’s apology.

“The image was inappropriate and insensitive,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email. “He realized this, took down the post and has since apologized.”

The Alabama St. product appeared in every Browns regular season game in both 2014 and 2015 with 13 total starts. As a rookie, Crowell made his mark by notching 8 touchdowns and running for 607 yards off of 148 carries, good for a 4.1 yards per carry average. In 2015, Crowell averaged 3.8 yards per carry with four rushing touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC North Notes: Burfict, Rice, Burleson, Steelers

August 29th, 2014 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Vontaze Burfict is barely into his second NFL contract, but he wants the Bengals to know that he already has deal No. 3 on his mind, writes Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. “I told Troy [Blackburn] I’ll be back in 2016,” Burfict said. “Obviously they trust me, and like I’ve said, I want to be a leader of the defense. We have great things to come for the next three years while I’m here.” If Burfict continues to perform at a high level, that next contract will be hefty, whether it comes from Cincinnati or someone else. More AFC North news:

If Ravens running back Ray Rice were to have another domestic violence incident, it’s unclear whether he would face a lifetime ban under the league’s new policy, writes Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Of course, the policy was put in place after (and in response to) Rice’s incident this offseason.
With an impressive route and catch last night, veteran Nate Burleson may have sewn up his spot on the Browns‘ roster, writes Tom Reed of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
It is possible the Steelers could carry as many as six wide receivers, though it is not likely, which means the players who don’t make the cut will probably be former Penn State teammates Justin Brown and Derrick Moye, writes Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Darrius Heyward-Bey projects to be Pittsburgh’s fifth and final receiver.
After the way Isaiah Crowell ran against the Bears, the Browns will probably have to give him a roster spot since they’d never get him back on the practice squad, writes Pat McManamon of ESPN.com.

Draft Notes: Manziel, Evans, Matthews

March 5th, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns didn’t meet with Johnny Manziel at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he wasn’t the only quarterback that the club didn’t talk to, according to Vic Carucci of ClevelandBrowns.com (via Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group). Cleveland also passed on the chance to talk to the likes of Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater, Central Florida’s Blake Bortles, and Fresno State’s Derek Carr. That doesn’t mean the team won’t meet with the top QBs, however. The Browns plan to spend quality time with the quarterbacks when they bring them to Berea, Ohio for visits and future private workouts. More draft news..

Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans has met with the Patriots and 49ers in the last 24 hours, tweets Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
Tackle Jake Matthews met has met with the Browns and Rams, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). Matthews, widely expected to be one of the first tackles off the board in this year’s draft, has also met with the Falcons.
Alabama State running back Isaiah Crowell confirmed that he has spoken to the Raiders, Browns, and the Ravens, according to a report from BamaStateSports.com (hat tip to NFL.com).