The Browns reportedly placed the franchise tag on kicker Phil Dawson on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The move to bring back Dawson, who’s been on the team since the Browns returned in 1999, always seemed like a no brainer to us, but media reports at the end of the season made us worried.
Dawson passed Hall of Fame kicker Lou Groza last season as the Browns all-time leader in field goals. He’s the ninth-most accurate kicker in NFL history at 83.1 percent, which is even more impressive when you consider the conditions he has to kick in at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The fact that the Browns may have entertained the thought of parting ways with a kicker who can produce in conditions like this gave us pause. But the fact that team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert understand Dawson’s value makes us feel better.
But we do have to wonder: is the move to retain Dawson a sign that the new coaching regime is thinking field goals rather than touchdowns? Because we all know how well that worked out for the last coach.
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Seneca Wallace is reportedly looking for a starting role next season as he ponders his future as a free agent.
“If I do go back (to Cleveland), hopefully it’s a chance to compete for the starting position,” he told Pro Football Weekly.
We like the thought of Wallace being on the Browns next year in a mentor role to Colt McCoy as he learns the West Coast offense. And Wallace is fine as a fill-in in case of injury. But as a starter? Not so much.
We understand that Wallace would want to be a starter, but after eight years of not being a starter in the league, we really don’t see the need for the Browns to be the test case.
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Maybe there is something to the “Dolans are cheap” talk.
According to UniWatch, the Indians have scaled back the Bob Feller memorial patch they will wear this season from this to this.
Why? Because the photo the original patch is based on is owned by Photo File and the Indians won’t reach a deal on the licensing fees to use the image.
Unbelievable, and sad, that a team as cash-strapped as the Indians may in fact be, can’t find the dough to honor the greatest picture in baseball history.
The Phil Dawson era came to a predictable end on Tuesday as the veteran kicker reportedly signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Red Right 88 
