Cutting Kruger a shock to some
Roster shuffle also features trading Lee for another punter.
Browns coach Hue Jackson told his players ahead of time that some big names among them might get cut and that it was time to put the blinders on and forge ahead.
So when outside linebacker Paul Kruger was let go Monday in the first cuts to 75, his good friend Joe Haden didn’t let it rock his world.
“I wouldn’t say it really shook the locker room,” Haden said. “It’s just you’ve got to be a pro. Things like this happen all the time. You see guys that are expected to be on the team, upstairs it just goes a different way.
“It just shows guys you’ve got to be making plays. It’s a whathave-you-done-for-me-lately business and if you’re not making plays anybody can go.”
Kruger, of course, didn’t see it that way. He felt his release in the third year of his five-year contract was a huge mistake and bungled by the organization. Although he thanked owners Jimmy and Dee
Haslam for the opportunity to play here, he made it clear he was mad about the way it went down.
Presumably, he was miffed they held onto him this long instead of cutting him in March when they released other 30-year-olds with big contracts.
“It was a shock, but this business, it never surprises you,” said Haden. “There’s one or two every year that you kind of scratch your head on. It’s a dude that you thought was going to be part of the change. But it’s a business, it’s a tough business. My relationship with Pauly, that’s one of my best friends on the team. He’s a really good dude and it just happened to go that way. It’s definitely a surprise but things like that happen every single year.”
Also let go were kicker Travis Coons, quarterback Austin Davis and tight end E.J. Bibbs. Final cuts to 53 are Saturday.
Haden scoffed at the outside perception that the Browns are tanking in 2016 to get a high pick and win down the road.
The Browns have other older players on the roster making big money, including Tramon Williams, who’s 33 and due to make $6.2 million this year.
“It’s just about (winning now) with ( Jackson),” Haden said. “That’s what we get every single day and every single team meeting. The only thing we’re worried about is winning here and whatever moves they make is about us winning.”
Haden seemed to corroborate what league sources said — that Kruger’s departure wasn’t about a youth movement, but about his lack of production. The Browns weren’t happy with what they saw from Kruger this summer, including during his two quarters of work Friday night against the Buccaneers. He had two assisted tackles and didn’t come close to sacking Jameis Winston, who passed for 259 yards and two TDs in the first half.
The Browns wanted to give Kruger a chance to catch on somewhere before the final cuts Saturday, and they’re excited about the young pass rushers they drafted, including Carl Nassib, the thirdround pick out of Penn State.
Kruger’s sack production dropped off from a careerhigh 11 in 2014 to 2 ½ in 2015.
“They believe in the guys we have,” said Haden. “Even though they might not have any stats yet, the coaches have a lot of confidence in them and their ability to make plays and I just think it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.”
Punter swap: The Browns on Monday also agreed to trade punter Andy Lee and a 2017 seventh-round draft pick to Carolina for punter Kasey Redfern and a 2018 fourth-round pick.
The trade comes after Lee appeared to let up during a punt return touchdown by Adam Humphries of the Buccaneers in Friday’s preseason game.
As ProFootballTalk.com reported, Jackson confronted Lee and clearly wasn’t happy that Lee hadn’t done more to at least slow Humphries.
Redfern, officially in his first NFL season out of Wofford, spent part of the 2015 season on San Diego’s practice squad before signing with Carolina this offseason.