Isaiah Crowell wants bigger role with Browns

Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell wishes that he would get the ball more in Hue Jackson’s offense. He ran the ball five times in Week 15’s loss.

The Cleveland Browns don’t do a lot of things well. That’s not hard to imagine, as the Browns have just one win in Hue Jackson’s two-year tenure as the head football coach. It doesn’t help that the front office tried to go all in on Moneyball tactics and it cost them their jobs. However, they have been able to run the ball well with tailbacks Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson.

That being said, Jackson is one of those offensive-minded coaches that loves to get away from the run when his team falls behind. Since the Browns have no idea what they are doing at both quarterback and wide receiver, it should come as no surprise that Crowell had just five carries in Week 15’s loss to the division rival Baltimore Ravens.

Crowell has still very productive with those five carries, as he ran for 72 yards. However, he wishes his role in the Browns offense would be bigger than this. On Wednesday Crowell said this to the media, “I’m sure that I can help my team more than I really do and more than I’ve been given the opportunity to do.”

Crowell has been a productive running back in his first four professional seasons with Cleveland. He hasn’t missed a game for Cleveland since donning a Browns uniform back in 2014. Crowell has a career 710 carries for 3,053 yards and 21 touchdowns. He will be 25 years old in January and will be hitting free agency this offseason.

Of course, it’s only natural for Crowell to want his workload increased. Surely he gets that he plays with another talent tailback in Johnson, but playing for a bad Browns team severely limits his opportunities to pound the rock.

While he is open to re-upping with the Browns on a new deal, given that Cleveland has a new general manager in place in John Dorsey, Crowell may be best served playing his final two games in Cleveland and signing elsewhere.

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Crowell is not your typical bell-cow back, but could be an effective back in several NFL offenses before his 30th birthday. Whomever signs him this offseason will be getting a productive runner with a major chip on his shoulder. If he can’t get the carries in Cleveland, he is more than welcome to leave in 2018.