Sports Then and Now

Braylon Edwards has been inconsistent during his NFL career.

The Jets who have, for the past six months, been trying to acquire a prominent wide receiver, took a giant step today by acquiring Braylon Edwards from the Cleveland Browns for wide receiver Chancey Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and two draft choices.

With all the hype coming out of Michigan, Edwards, for the most part, has been a flop in his first seasons.  He has shown signs of greatness, but his behavior off the field leaves one to wonder whether he can be pencilled in as the number one receiver each week.

There was never any doubt that Braylon would ever be on the same page as Eric Mangini.  Those two guys are just worlds apart.  Now, if Rex Ryan is keep Mr. Edwards in line and in game face mode, he will have to lay the law down early, and perhaps often, for this talented, yet troubled, young man.

My initial thought when hearing of this trade was, if Braylon could get in trouble outside a Cleveland night club, having him in New York is like being a diabetic and putting him to work at Hershey’s chocolate.

Perhaps Rex Ryan, who helped put Ray Lewis’s life back in order in Baltimore, can do the same for Edwards.  Braylon and the Jets can only wish for the same thing here.  When healthy and focused, Edwards will be a force that other teams will have to prepare for each week.  If he’s a bust, then we gave up a pretty talented number two receiver for him.

The future is anybody’s guess.  Let’s just hope that if Braylon Edwards is a rotten apple, he doesn’t get a chance to spoil the whole cart.