Gary Baxter is going to try it again.
The Browns signed the star-crossed defensive back to a one-year contract Thursday in hopes of seeing him complete his comeback in a Cleveland uniform.
"This is very important for me to sign a one-year deal here and to finish something I started," Baxter said in a statement released by the club. "This has been a long process, but right now everything is going well and I'm going to continue my quest to make history."
Baxter is trying to become the first NFL player to return from patella tendon surgeries on both knees. He had the surgeries in October 2006. Nine months later, he was cleared to practice for the opening of training camp in 2007.
Baxter made the final roster but didn't appear in a game. He was placed on injured reserve with 10 games left.
"I'm running and feeling good," Baxter said. "I'm putting in everything I've got. Things are looking very positive."
Before he joined the Browns as a free agent in 2005, Baxter never missed a game because of injury in four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
In Cleveland, he has missed 40 of 48 games because of two pectoral injuries and the two knee injuries.
In other developments on Thursday:
Free-agent linebacker Chaun Thompson suspended talks with the Browns to visit the Houston Texans. Thompson was intrigued by a potential starting role with his home-state team. He has a two-year offer from the Browns on the table.
A new pass-rusher possibility opened up when Detroit released Kalimba Edwards. The Browns tried to sign him in free agency in 2006, but Edwards stayed with the Lions. That decision resulted in the Browns drafting Kamerion Wimbley ahead of tackle Haloti Ngata, who went to the Ravens. The Browns have been trying to find a bookend pass-rusher to complement Wimbley ever since.
Former Denver linebacker Al Wilson ended a Browns visit without a contract.
The Browns re-signed fullback Charles Ali to a one-year contract.
source http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/03/cleveland_browns_resign_gary_b.html
Friday, March 14, 2008
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