Seahawks QB Wallace was traded to Browns

On Monday night, the Seattle Seahawks confirmed that they have made a deal with the Cleveland Browns, trading backup quarterback Seneca Wallace to Browns for an undisclosed 2011 draft pick. The trade is also considered to be one part of Browns current team president Mike Holmgren’s plan of restructuring Browns with players from his former team, the Seahawks.


“This will give Seneca a chance for a fresh start,” Seattle general manager John Schneider said in a statement. “The Browns front office’s familiarity with his abilities will give him an opportunity to compete for playing time. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Formerly the Seahawks head coach, Holmgren took Wallace as one of his favorite players, and that could be the major reason why he made effort to bring Wallace to Cleveland. So, putting on the Browns jersey, what Wallace could do for the new team?

Being drafted by the Seahawks as a fourth-round pick in 2003, Wallace has spent his entire seven-year career with the team and has played in totally 46 games, starting 14 games at quarterback with 25 career touchdowns. He was used sometimes at wide receiver and returner and had four pass catches for 76 yards and 214 rushing yards. His best season was 2008 when he started eight games with 1,532 throwing yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also given starting job last season for two games when original starter Matt Hasselbeck was sidelined with injury. Therefore, what the Browns brought to their offensive line was a versatile player who has considerable experience as a starter. Not a bad deal.

WR Stallworth will try his chance with new team

One day after wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth was reinstated to the NFL, his old team Cleveland Browns announced that the team released him. One day after being released, his agent told media that the receiver will work out for another NFL team on Wednesday.


“He is in the best shape he’s been in since I’ve been representing him,” Rosenhaus said. “His reinstatement was a very smooth process. He’s developed a very good rapport with (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell.” Rosenhaus did not identify the team Stallworth will visit.

Stallworth pleaded guilty in June to DUI manslaughter for striking and killing a pedestrian with his car in Miami Beach, Fla., drawing a suspension from the league. The 29-year-old receiver caught 17 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown while playing the 2008 season in Browns jersey. Since entering the NFL as the 13th pick of first round in 2002 by the New Orleans Saints, he has had 296 receptions for 4,383 yards and 32 touchdowns.

WR Stallworth lost his chance in Browns

As people have guessed, wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth lost his job in the Cleveland Browns a few days after the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Stallworth would be reinstated after the Super Bowl game.


Goodell made his statement on Friday, and it took only three days for the Browns to make the decision of releasing the troubled wide receiver. The team released a one sentence statement on Monday stating the team had terminated Stallworth’s seven-year, $35 million contract that was signed in 2008. Stallworth already received a $4.5 million bonus before he struck 59-year-old crane operator Mario Reyes the morning of March 14 in Miami.

Stallworth pleaded guilty June 16 to DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and was suspended by Goodell two days later. The 29-year-old receiver caught 17 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown while playing the 2008 season in Browns jersey. Entering the league as a first round draft pick in 2002, Stallworth played with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots before joining the Browns.

Browns and Dolphins exchanged vice presidents

There was a trade done between the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns on Monday, but no player need to change their NFL jerseys as the trade was unusually for team officials, with former Dolphins senior vice president of football operations being Browns’ vice president of football administration and replacing Dawn Aponte, who is to do Thomas’ job with the Dolphins.


The trade was made partly because both vice presidents’ new bosses were the bosses who they used to work for.

Thomas spent last 12 seasons with the Dolphins and got the job of vice president recently. The Browns’ executive vice president of business operations, Bryan Wiedmeier, was president of the Dolphins while Thomas worked there as vice president.

As for Aponte, she had been working with the Browns for one year and was the club’s chief negotiator on contracts. Before joining the Browns, she worked as the NFL’s management council and also worked for the New York Jets with Bill Parcells, who is now the Dolphins’ president.

Browns Coach wished he would have handled final play differently

After Monday night’s 16-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini said he wished he would have handled the game’s final play differently so that the team would not have its best player injured.


The best player referred to wide receiver Josh Cribbs, who was flattened by Ravens defensive end Dwan Edwards on the last play. In the team whose offense just scoring nine points in the past three games and 78 all season, Cribbs at least poses the threat of going the distance when he has the ball, and that is why the Browns cannot afford to be without him.

After Cribbs spent several hours at the Cleveland Clinic undergoing tests, Mangini worried less as he knew the receiver did not sustain a concussion. The coach was even optimistic that Cribbs would wear back his Browns jersey to play on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. But who care? The Browns anyway have no chance to the playoff.

NFL announced fined players

This week the players who received fines from the NFL include the Arizona Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle, tackle Levi Brown, the Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey, the Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, Cleveland Browns linebacker Kaluka Maiava, New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw and safety Michael Johnson.


Cardinals Rolle was fined $7,500 for hitting tight end Kevin Boss of the Giants in last Sunday’s win, and Brown was fined $5,000 for a chop block, the same as the Panthers Williams, who did the chop block in last Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills while picking up a blitz.

Colts Lacey received a fine of $10,000 because he went to the ground to celebrate after a touchdown in a win over St. Louis Rams and the league considered that was unsportsmanlike conduct.

Browns rookie Maiava, Giants Bradshaw and Johnson each was fined $5,000 for unnecessary roughness. Maiava hit Packers receiver Greg Jennings in the game, Bradshaw struke DT in Cardinals jersey named Darnell Dockett in the face mask last Sunday, and Johnson hit Kurt Warner in the head in the same game.

FBI stopped investigating threats to former Browns WR Edwards

FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson said Saturday that the FBI is no longer investigating any reported threats to former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who has been traded and is wearing New York Jets jersey now..


The FBI said the Browns contacted the Cleveland field office about the threats shortly after the Edwards allegedly punched a man outside a downtown night club. The man was said to be a friend of NBA star LeBron James. But the FBI did not tell the nature of the threats or who made them.

Browns spokesman Bill Bonsiewicz says it's not unusual for the team to communicate with local law enforcement agencies about such matters. So it is not surprising to see FBI involved into NFL team’s legal issues.

Browns coach Mangini waived another player picked by his predecessor

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns waived tight end Martin Rucker, marking the second straight time Coach Eric Mangini has waived a high draft pick of Cleveland’s previous regime. Along with Rucker, defensive back Marquis Floyd was also waived by the Browns on the same day.


Rucker was a fourth-round selection in 2008, when the Browns coach was Romeo Crennel. Another player released by Mangini last week was linebacker Leon Williams, who was picked by Crennel in 2006.

The Browns found replacement for the released players very soon. Tight end Greg Estandia and defensive back Anthony Madison has been added to their roster to put on the browns jersey already. The 6-foot-8, 266-pound Estandia spent two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and started two to the 26 games he took part in, having totally 19 catches for 249 yards. Madison was signed as a free agent. He was playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2006 to 2008.