The rumor mill has been churning like crazy for the Cleveland Browns and both general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Pat Shurmur have put an end to these recent rumors in order to end all the recent debates surrounding the franchise.
Sorry Michael Lombardi, but your speculation of the Browns trading one of their 2012 first round picks—even though you said Kevin Kolb is not worth a first round (confusing, yes)—is not in the cards for Cleveland per a tweet from beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot.
"Browns GM Tom Heckert officially dispelled rumor that Browns wud trade for a QB, meaning Kevin Kolb."
Then, a league source shut down the rumors of newly released wide receiver Plaxico Burress coming to Cleveland, per another Cabot tweet.
"Browns will not pursue WR Plaxico Burress, who was released from prison this wk and has missed 2 seasons, league source told Plain Dealer."
Shurmur indicated the team is happy with their current crop of receivers and the need to add another veteran is not necessary.
"I feel like we have some veteran receivers,'' said Shurmur to The Plain Dealer. "Although they are younger, they've played NFL seasons, so I'm looking forward to working with the guys that we have. I feel like we have a good team to start and move forward with, and that's the way we're gonna approach it.''
"We want to try to bring in players that obviously are competitive, [and] are guys that can win and have good character."
It remains to be seen if Burress' character was rehabilitated during his time in prison; but according to Shurmur, it appears obvious the Browns have no interest in Burress or in any players who may have character issues in free agency once the lockout ends.
