Got a Browns question? Send it in. Submit your question to cleveland.com/heytony, and Plain Dealer Browns beat writer Tony Grossi will choose several to answer each Sunday here in the sports section. All of Tony's answers are archived online.
Q: Hey, Tony: I'm having a debate with some of my friends. My understanding of contract holdouts is that if the team that drafted you can't get you to cut a deal, you cannot sign with another team until the next season. Everyone else seems to think that if a player isn't signed before the season starts, they can sign with anyone. Of course, if I'm right, I don't know why teams usually cave with holdouts.- Jared Pelcic, Wellington.
A: Hey, Jared: A drafted player remains the "property" of the team that drafted him until the day before the next draft. If he never signs, the player re-enters the draft the following year.
Q: Hey, Tony: Are you surprised that the Browns passed up on Rey Maualuga with their second-round pick. I think he would have looked good in a Browns uniform. Now we have to see him twice a year in a Bengals uniform. - Anthony R., Phoenix.
A: Hey, Anthony: Surprised they passed on him? No. There was no indication Eric Mangini coveted Maualuga. The fact Maualuga turned down an invitation to visit the Browns because of a prior commitment before the draft surely did not help him. Maualuga is no choir boy, to be sure, and his past transgressions certainly don't fit the profile of the players Mangini ultimately drafted. The knock on Maualuga as a player is that he is too aggressive and overruns a lot of plays, and also may not fit in the NFL on third downs.
- Tony
