Brown's Tight End Kellen Winslow Claims He Wants to Stay in Cleveland

The Associated Press reported today on NFL.com that embattled Cleveland Browns tight end, Kellen Winslow, has expressed a desire to remain in Cleveland next year despite a tumultuous 2008 season with the team.

In an interview earlier today, Winslow said, "I love being a Cleveland Brown. The guys here, we don't know who's going to be here next year. You just have to focus on this year. That's all you can do. ... I do want to be back here. I love being here. I love playing here. The fans have stuck by me."

Winslow's words might come as a surprise to some dedicated followers of the Browns organization. In October, Winslow was diagnosed with staph infection at a local hospital in Cleveland. According to Tony Grossi at Cleveland.com, Winslow's medical condition developed into a team distraction when Winslow complained that the Browns GM, Phil Savage, did not visit or contact Winslow during his hospitalization. He also accused the Browns of concealing the staph infection diagnosis as a backlash against the organization's growing reputation for having players diagnosed with the illness.

Because of his comments, the Browns suspended him on Tuesday, October 21, for their Week 8 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville. On Saturday the 25^th, the Browns rescinded the suspension, but since Winslow hadn't travelled to Jacksonville with the team, he was not able to play in the game.

Winslow also has had to deal with an unstable situation at the Browns quarterback position. Last year, Derek Anderson was selected to the Pro Bowl for the AFC, but has since played very poorly. Before the matchup against the Denver Broncos on November 6, Anderson was benched in favor of Brady Quinn, the highly touted 2007 1^st round draft pick out of Notre Dame. However, against the Houston Texans two games later, Browns head coach, Romeo Crennel had to bench Quinn due to a finger injury. Though Winslow looked good in the contest against the Denver Broncos, the lack of consistency at quarterback (and his own injury riddled season) clearly hurt his ability to maintain good chemistry with Cleveland's quarterbacks.

Today, however, Winslow cleared the air in a significant way by claiming he has a strong relationship with Cleveland Browns owner, Randy Lerner, and a commitment to do better for Cleveland next season.

"It's been a tough year all along through the stuff that's happened to me, it just hasn't gone my way. I'm going to continue to fight and try to be a consistent player."

Right now, it looks like Winslow's 2008 campaign is over. After battling numerous injuries throughout the season, Zac Jackson reported for ClevelandBrowns.com that the tight end suffered a high ankle sprain in the Browns' close loss to the Indianapolis Colts on November 30. With only three games left this season, most experts agree that Winslow probably won't be able to return to the field before the Browns Week 17 matchup against Pittsburgh.

But for now, at least, he is content to move ahead as a Cleveland Brown.