The Browns are in the playoffs but there are plenty of players over the last 20-plus years who deserved a shot at glory but were denied, these are five of them.
The Browns are in the playoffs but in true typical fashion, it won’t be an easy fight for them. Besides the Browns’ own local media thinking they have no chance, the compounded effects of COVID-19 have ravaged the team. None more affected emotionally than Joel Bitonio. Bitonio has been a loyal player for the Browns and has become one of the greatest offensive linemen the team has ever had. Next to Shaun O’Hara, Eric Steinbach, and of course Joe Thomas, he’s been the best player on the line since the team returned. Yet, like Steinbach and Thomas, Bitonio had never made the playoffs (O’Hara did in ’02.)
Sad news though, Bitonio is out for his first-ever crack at a playoff game. Which got us thinking, what former players also deserved a chance at a playoff game but were denied for one reason or another? This isn’t about which players we’d like back for this specific run, Dawg Pound Daily did a nice write up on that one.
No, this is about which player since 1999, while wearing a Browns uniform, was denied an opportunity to suit up for a playoff game for one reason or another and absolutely should have.
Tim Couch
This might be a shocker to some, but Tim Couch didn’t actually play in a playoff game for the Browns. That’s right, despite leading the team to the playoffs in that fun 2002 season, Couch got hurt during the final game of the year and wasn’t available for the playoff game in Pittsburgh. Due to that injury, Kelly Holcomb was given the nod and had a good outing.
Couch was a good quarterback with not a lot of help, especially at the offensive line, and had he been in that game against the Steelers, there’s no telling what could’ve happened. Couch had a knack for winning games, which he showed throughout the 2002 season. It’s impossible to say the Browns would’ve won with him in the starting lineup, but it’s impossible to say that they wouldn’t of either.
Jamir Miller
Jamir Miller was the first true start the team had since they returned in 1999. He signed with the team in March of 1999 after turning down a two-year deal to return to the Arizona Cardinals. Miller came to the team with baggage and off-field issues but after arriving in Cleveland showed himself to be a consistent and persistent player on the field. In his first two years in Cleveland, he had over 200 tackles, with 18 for a loss, while tacking on 9.5 sacks as well.
In his third year, however, he’d truly go off. He had 101 tackles, 22 for a loss, 14 pass deflections (nine the previous two years combined), and a stellar 13 sacks. Those unbelievable numbers were enough to get Jamir Miller to the Pro Bowl, as well as being the first Browns player since Eric Turner in 1994.
Miller was on the rise as a player and he came into 2002 at just 29-years-old and the star of a dense that had some really good players in Dwayne Rudd, recent signee Earl Holmes, Daylon McCutcheon, and a rookie Gerard Warren. Miller tore up his Achilles tendon though in the preseason and never played a down again.
Made worse by the fact that the Browns went to the playoffs that year, meaning Miller watched it from his couch.
Josh Cribbs
The criteria for Hall of Famers is whack. The idea that special teams aren’t important is a joke and players who can take on those types of roles should absolutely be heralded for the impact players that they are. Josh Cribbs is that kind of player. Cribbs in his career in Cleveland totaled 14,065 total yards across all the returns, rushes, and receptions. Yet, he isn’t viewed in the same light as other great players.
This isn’t just a Cleveland bias here speaking but Cribbs deserves a better legacy than that.
He also deserved to get to the playoffs. Cribbs was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Browns and was done wrong by the organization when they let him walk after 2012. The former Kent State star gave this team and town everything he could. He not only deserved to never be let go, but he also deserved to have better ownership and executives during his time that could make sure his legacy was defined by the playoffs.
Not by a lack of them.
Joe Haden
Yes, he’s currently with the enemy but Joe Haden is one of the best defensive players the Browns have had period, not just since 1999. He was a true shut down corner who made plays all over the place. A few years dating the injury bug and people forgot how good he really was, and management cut him in 2017 after he refused to take a pay cut. Thanks, Sashi Brown.
Haden in time in Cleveland regularly got brought up alongside Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman as the league’s best cornerbacks, and rightfully so. He sealed off half the field at all time. A true shut down corner. The sad part is, he’s pretty much still the same player for the Steelers as he was for the Browns. A Pro Bowl-caliber player who can still give offenses fits.
He played all out for the Browns during his tenure and didn’t have much help around him, either. He also fell in love with the city and became one of the most beloved players due to his sincere love of the city. He’s still seen in a great light these days by many Browns fans. That’s even when you account for his time with the Steelers. He’s still someone that the fans of the Browns come back for just one more year before he calls it a career. He deserves one go around in the playoffs with the orange and white.
Joe Thomas
Could it be anyone else? Joe Thomas spent his Hall of Fame career in Cleveland, giving the team their very own first-ballot Hall of Famer in decades. He was loyal when he didn’t have to be, he was a calming voice when he earned the right to be done with the nonsense. He supported everyone and anyone who wanted to make the team better. He was the quintessential team-first guy.
If only his body had held up a little bit longer. A lot of offensive linemen of his quality are still playing in their mid 30’s, which Thomas is. He just turned 36, but years of abuse and concerns about his long term health had Thomas thinking better of returning after the 2017 season. He opted to retire just when the Browns were going to be good.
In his decade with the team, he’d only had one winning season. He deserved better.
Especially when you realize he made 10 straight Pro Bowls (would’ve been 11 had he not gotten hurt in 2017), was a six-time first-team All-Pro, a two-time second-team All-Pro, and was just one of eight players to earn a unanimous selection to the 2010 All-Decade team.
There is no player in Browns’ history, reaching all the way back to the beginning, who deserves a playoff opportunity more than Thomas.