Receiver plans to boycott Browns voluntary minicamp this week unless there is progress on talks for a new contract by the start of camp
today, said his agent, J.R. Rickert. The two sides continued to talk Monday night but with no apparent movement. Cribbs, who made the Pro Bowl as a special-teamer following the 2007 season, has been looking to renegotiate the six-year, $6 million contract extension he signed before that year — with his previous agent. The deal included a $2 million signing bonus. But after establishing himself as an elite returner and special-teams tackler, he’s looking for a deal similar to Bears returner / receiver , who last year received $40 million over four years with $15 million guaranteed. “Josh is starting to get a sense there’s no appreciation for him,” Rickert said. “He feels a little personally hurt by it because he puts his heart and soul into this team.” But Rickert maintains Cribbs received such a promise from Lerner. “We respectfully disagree with that [statement],” Rickert said. The source also said Cribbs was told by Kokinis that they’d get to his deal after the draft, which was almost a month ago. But the new regime has shown no willingness to negotiate and doesn’t believe it should be bound by Savage’s promise, the source said.
“It’s obvious that Josh has outperformed his contract,” Rickert said. “All he’s looking for is meaningful dialogue from the team and an acknowledgement that the contract he’s under is inappropriate. If we get that, he’ll be [at minicamp].”