He's going to want that ball in his hands as much as possible if he wants a good payout from us or anyone in FA.
Eh....his agent is in his ear and head. They don't want the wear and tear on his body without the cash. They're playing it safe, and it sucks for us the most. Some team will sign him to a fat paycheck based on last years performance. Even if he goes through this season as a malcontent. The next city will just assume they're going to get 100% since they paid up. It's how professional sports works these days.
The Browns are pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don't on this one. The Browns FO is playing it smart, but we're going to get little production out of him this year. In true Cleveland sports fashion he will probably sign somewhere else and put up big numbers again. I just don't see how we can pay him what he wants when the shelf-life on bruising NFL running-backs is so short.
In the mean-time, we're relying on a guy coming off a missed season and knee surgery. It's just an ugly situation all around.