Rex Grossman Turns Down $60,000 To Be Browns Backup For One Game, Would Rather Spend Christmas With Family
Rex Grossman has plans to go kitesurfing with his family over the holidays, and even $60,000 and a chance to relive his NFL glory won’t change his mind.
After the Cleveland Browns lost both quarterbacks — Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer — to injury, the team went looking to the former Super Bowl starter to come back for a single game and hold a clipboard on the sidelines as a backup. The Browns would have given Grossman a one-game deal at the veteran’s minimum, which would have meant a $60,000 paycheck.
But the 34-year-old Grossman turned down the Browns, saying he had family coming over for the holidays and didn’t want to change his plans.
#Browns called Rex Grossman about joining team for one week but sides couldn’t work out logistics. Grossman has whole family in for holiday
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) December 22, 2014
I talked to Rex Grossman today…Let’s just say he has reasons to turn down the #Browns – Palm Beach vs. Cleveland & he’s been kite surfing
— Chris Russell (@Russellmania980) December 23, 2014
With Rex Grossman spending the holidays kitesurfing with his family, the Browns are turning to undrafted rookie Connor Shaw to start and have signed journeyman Tyler Thigpen to play backup. Thigpen, who hasn’t seen action since 2012, was caught passed out in a Wendy’s drive-thru lane last month, reportedly drunk.
The Browns had actually brought Thigpen in for training camp this year, but cut him in August. A seventh-round pick in 2007, Thigpen has played 29 games in the NFL, including the bulk of the 2008 season for the Kansas City Chiefs. That year, he threw for 2,608 yards with 18 touchdowns in 14 games.
The Browns waived fullback Ray Agnew to make way for Thigpen. He had appeared in 12 games this season, starting in nine.
The one-game paycheck may not have meant too much to Grossman. He earned close to $16 million over the course of his career, and hasn’t played in more than two years.
[Image via Getty Images]
