Cleveland Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert has been dealing with personal issues all year, according to his coach
Cleveland Browns rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert had a rough go of it this year. He played poorly, was passed on the depth chart, and was called out by teammates and coaches for a lack of maturity.
When asked about Gilbert’s struggles this year, and asked whether they were the result of a lack of maturity, Browns head coach Mike Pettine replied, “It’s more than that. I don’t want to get into it. It’s very personal and I’m not going to get into details about it.”
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Pettine wouldn’t get into details other than to say that these personal issues were “ongoing” throughout the season, and that the Browns were unaware of said issues before they drafted Gilbert.
Gilbert, the eighth overall pick in the draft, had an extremely disappointing season, starting off by getting torched by Ben Roethlisberger in Week 1, then being passed on the depth chart by undrafted rookie K’wuan Williams and seeing limited play the rest of the season. He was also suspended for the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens for repeatedly showing up late to team meetings and practices.
Veteran teammates Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner are among those who have publicly called out Gilbert this year.
Team owner Jimmy Haslam may have been talking about these personal issues last week when he said of Gilbert, “These are young people who come from a variety of different backgrounds that are thrust into the spotlight, that all of a sudden have money in their pocket. Some handle it really well and some face challenges. I think, I can’t speak for the league, we as an organization can do better there, and we’re devoted to doing it.”
Haslam added that Gilbert “needs to mature.”
Maturity (or a lack thereof) seems to be a theme with the Browns these days, between Gilbert, quarterback Johnny Manziel, who’s currently in rehab, and receiver Josh Gordon, who has been suspended for next season.
No one likes to see a talented player turn into a bust, so hopefully Gilbert can overcome these personal problems, get things together next season and start to have a career worthy of the number eight pick.
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