BEREA, Ohio -- Braylon Edwards wants to atone for his disappointing 2008 season, just not in New York.
After an offseason filled with trade rumors that had Edwards going to the Giants, he is still with the Cleveland Browns, trying to help pick up the pieces of a 4-12 season.
"I felt like if I'd have left Cleveland for any reason, I would have left with a bad taste in my mouth and in the fans' minds," Edwards said. "The thing I want to do is get back to being the player the Browns drafted in '05 and the fans saw in '07."
As the Browns' voluntary three-day minicamp concluded Thursday, Edwards was still catching passes from both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Seemingly, nothing really changed following the offseason trade of tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Edwards, Quinn and Anderson were all topics of various trade rumors in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft. New Browns general manager George Kokinis even admitted to discussions with the Giants involving Edwards. Ultimately, Kokinis and new coach Eric Mangini decided to try and win with the same nucleus that underachieved last year.
"We were all bad collectively," Anderson said. "Coaches, players, everyone was bad. We're moving past that. It's all behind us. It's a new year and that's how we're focusing on it."
The quarterback competition between Quinn and Anderson that engulfed training camp last season appears to be back. Mangini wants to use the summer to look at both guys before deciding on a starter. Quinn took the first snaps with the starters this week, but both quarterbacks evenly split all the snaps, Mangini said.
"(Quinn) has done a really outstanding job in the offseason program," Mangini said. "Not that Derek hasn't done well, but I thought (Quinn) got the edge, so he took the first reps. There's no overwhelming significance to that. The goal is balance."
Edwards is certainly looking for balance after a dramatic drop in production last season. He had 55 catches and three touchdowns in 2008 after his Pro Bowl season of 2007, when he caught 80 passes and 16 touchdowns. Edwards also led the league in dropped passes in 2008.
"When you rush things a lot and there's a lot going on, you feel as though things are happening and happening and happening, and you're in a hole you can't get out of," Edwards said. "It's an easy game when you have fun. That's the biggest thing for me. It's not necessarily a confidence thing, but just really having fun with the game and enjoying it."
In other news:
» Browns wide receiver and return specialist Josh Cribbs attended a full squad meeting on Thursday after previously threatening to skip the voluntary minicamp. Cribbs, trying to renegotiate his contract, did not take part in the workouts, but did meet with Mangini following the team meeting.
"I look forward to him being out there," said Mangini, who wouldn't say whether he would be open to renegotiating the final four years on Cribbs' six-year, $6.7 million deal. "These are voluntary camps, so it's not a mandatory situation. Everybody has to make the decision whether to attend or not.
"But I can tell you there is a ton of information going in, and it's an opportunity for us to see all the different players. When you're here, you get those reps. When you're not, you don't."
» Along with Cribbs, kicker Phil Dawson and wide receiver Donte' Stallworth were absent from the workouts. Dawson is believed to be holding out for a new contract, while Stallworth's arraignment in Miami on DUI manslaughter charges was postponed Thursday until June 4.
» Running back Jamal Lewis attended the camp, but didn't participate in many team drills while rehabilitating from offseason ankle surgery.
"It feels good. I'm just doing what the trainers ask me to do," Lewis said. "I don't want to do anything crazy or take the chance of injuring it."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
