Browns WR Joe Jurevicius Out for All of 2008 – Vows to Play in 2009

Cleveland Browns’ sure-handed wide receiver Joe Jurevicius will miss the entire season — but has vowed to make his comeback in 2009 and eventually retire as a Cleveland Brown.

Jurevicius’ announcement Monday came as no surprise.

But the reason for his lengthy recovery time following arthoscopic knee surgery in January sounded all too familiar. It seems Jurevicius developed a staph infection and had five surgeries to eliminate the infection.

Sound familiar?

Jurevicius also revealed he scheduled his sixth surgery to clean out his knee with a specialist in the field located in Vail, Colorado.

Browns tight end Kellen Winslow was suspended for one game on Oct. 26 and a huge paycheck after revealing to reporters that his previously reported “undisclosed illness” at Cleveland Clinic was actually treatment for a staph infection — his second as a Brown.

Number 80 also complained that Browns General Manager Phil Savage never even bothered to pick up the phone and ask how he was, making Winslow feel he was being treated like a “piece of meat.”

The Browns abruptly dropped the suspension after it was revealed Winslow was warned in a text-message to keep the staph infection secret.

Meanwhile, back at the Jurevicius ranch in an eastern Cleveland suburb, for all these months Joe kept silent about his battle with staph.

But on Monday in an interview with Mark Bishop, on ESPN affiliate WKNR-AM 850, Jurevicius, who will turn 34 on Dec. 23, spoke of his desire to return next season and end his career as he has always envisioned — walking off the field for the last time, with a daughter on each arm.

Joe Jurevicius made a name for himself as a wide receiver for Lake Catholic High School in Mentor, Ohio where his number 84 jersey is retired and hangs in the Lake Catholic gym.

He played football at Penn State and was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he won a Super Bowl XXXVII ring.

In 2005 he played for the Seattle Seahawks, finishing the season with a career high 10 touchdowns and led the Seahawks with five catches in the 21-10 Super Bowl loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2006, Jurevicius signed a four-year contract with the Browns, his hometown team, and was known as the go-to guy for third down conversions.

The staph infection sidetracked Jurevicius for this year, forcing him onto the Active/PUP list and on August 25, he was transferred to the Reserve/PUP list, forcing him to miss six weeks.

When asked by WKNR if he was angry at anyone or anything, Joe Jurevicius did not answer the question directly, but said he is using his anger to motivate him in his efforts to rehab his knee and be ready for 2009.

Jurevicius also admitted that neither Savage nor Top Men called to ask how he was doing after the knee surgery — but that he really didn’t care who didn’t call, who didn’t visit.

Instead, he remembers the Browns’ personnel and players who did come to visit him like Steve Heiden, back-up tight end and wide receiver for Winslow and Jurevicius.

Jurevicius also said he has been heartened and pleased by the Browns fans who call out to him, “Hi, Joe! Hope you get better soon, Joe! When are you coming back, Joe.”

Jurevicius told WKNR that it is for the fans and himself that he cannot give up his dream to play again as a Cleveland Brown.

“Those times at the Cleveland Clinic, I’d see kids go by in wheelchairs,” Jurevicius said. “What is a hurt knee compared to that?”

[tags]joe jurevicius, cleveland browns, nfl, football[/tags]

Tags: Cleveland Browns, football, joe jurevicius, NFL

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