Josh Cribbs Injury Update: Possible Concussion, Released from Hospital

The Browns got their asses handed to them again last night in another embarrassing offensive performance that culminated in a 16-0 shutout.

But nothing the offense did (or didn’t do) could match the collective fear and frustration felt when Josh Cribbs needlessly went down on the last play of the game and then had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

Let’s forget for a moment how asinine it was for the team to run a “hook and ladder” play with the game out of reach and get to the important stuff: this morning’s Josh Cribbs injury update.

The latest Cribbs injury update, according to the Plain-Dealer, is that Cribbs was taken to the hospital immediately after last night’s game and is being evaluated for a concussion.

He was reportedly placed on the stretcher as a precautionary measure, but was said to have been laughing and joking with teammates as he was carted off the field. He was also reportedly experiencing full movement in his extremeties.

I’m not sure there are words for how relieved this news will make Browns fans, his teammates, and the organization.

Not only is Josh Cribbs the only bright and exciting spot for the Cleveland Browns right now, but he is about as high a character guy as there is. For example, this past week it was reported that Cribbs attended the senior night for the son of his former coach at Kent State, who is now deceased. Cribbs accompanied his former coach’s wife as she walked her son out on Senior night.

That’s Joshua Cribbs for you.

So while you never want anyone to get hurt during a sporting event, Cribbs is the kind of guy that you really don’t want to see get hurt. He plays his heart out on every play of every game, regardless of whether the Browns have a chance to win or not, and he embodies everything that we want our athletes to be in terms of providing a positive example for young people to follow.

You’d think that kind of thing would be rewarded by the pathetic organization for which he plays — the same organization that professes it wants to build around “high character” players — but so far Cribbs does not have a new contract. And before you argue and say that he should play out his current deal, consider for a quick second what happened last night.

In the NFL, everything can be taken away from a player in a split second. They have to take care of themselves and their families by using leverage when they have it. The Browns organization will continue on if Josh Cribbs ever gets seriously injuried; his career will not.

I have no problem with Cribbs seeking a new deal, especially when he obviously deserves it and when he says Randy Lerner promised him one.

Anyway, sorry…I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there. Last night was just a reminder of how important Cribbs is to the Browns and how much he needs to be a centerpiece of the rebuilding project.

I don’t know why he was even on the field in that situation. Actually, I take that back…all it takes is one glance over to the sideline to know exactly why such an idiotic call would be made.

Bud Shaw put it best at the Plain-Dealer website this morning in his article about Josh Cribbs’ injury:

Three seconds left on your half of the field, down 16 points, why do anything except take a knee?

Why the Browns ran a fire drill play that ended with Josh Cribbs carted off the field because his head didn’t swivel fast enough goes into the unanswerable file in an unfathomable season, Eric Mangini’s first and perhaps only here.

That’s not the question being asked around the rest of the country, no doubt. The question being asked around the rest of the country after the Browns 16-0 loss to Baltimore: “Any chance there’s an Antique Roadshow marathon we could watch instead?”

But given the obvious doubts some Browns have about their head coach as voiced by Jamal Lewis last week, the final play of a forgettable game is another log on the three-alarm fire licking at Mangini.

I’d like to, I really would…I’m trying to stay as positive as possible…but I cannot disagree at all.

Also read this update on Josh Cribbs’ injury from Waiting For Next Year, with some quotes from Brady Quinn and Mohammed Massaquoi.

Update: Cribbs has been released from the hospital according to FoxSports.

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* – Josh Cribbs photo credit:Tony Dejak/Associated Press via The Plain-Dealer

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