Browns ink CB to 5-year deal

Daylon McCutcheon is the lone draft pick remaining from the 1999 team.
BEREA (AP) -- Undaunted by five turbulent seasons of injuries, losses, coaching changes and controversy with the Cleveland Browns, Daylon McCutcheon signed up for five more.
He survived. So why not?
"If I didn't think that they were going to be better than my first five, I wouldn't want to be here," McCutcheon said. "I'm tired of losing. It's been enough. I'm ready for the good times."
The lone draft pick remaining from the club's 1999 expansion team, McCutcheon signed a five-year contract on Wednesday that will keep the cornerback with the Browns through 2009.
Financial terms were not immediately available.
McCutcheon, 27, is one of just three players, along with kicker Phil Dawson and safety Earl Little, left on Cleveland's roster from the dreadful '99 team that finished 2-14.
"In '99, we just threw a bunch of guys together, and didn't know what was going to happen," McCutcheon said. "The expectations are much higher now."
By signing one of their most established veterans, the current Browns are attempting to keep a core of players together. They're showing a commitment to a future that McCutcheon is convinced will be bright in Cleveland.
"We're expecting to go all the way," he said. "I don't think we expect anything else. First round of the playoffs? I'm not going to be happy. Second round of the playoffs? I'm not going to be happy. I want a [Super Bowl] ring."
Uncertainty
There were times when McCutcheon wasn't sure if his career would continue in Cleveland. With almost constant changes in the front office and locker room the past few years, he wondered if his time with the Browns was up.
However, the club picked up his $1.3 million signing bonus in March, preventing him from becoming a free agent and a clear sign they intended to keep him.
And now that his contract situation is out of the way and he has financial security, McCutcheon is relieved that he can concentrate on football.
"This is important for a lot of reasons," he said. "To provide financial security for my family, and with having a young child, it [the extension] was really important for me. It was important because I wanted to finish my career as a Brown. This is where I want to be, and where I want to finish up."
McCutcheon was the fourth player selected by the Browns when they returned to the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1999. The two most prominent players taken before him -- quarterback Tim Couch and wide receiver Kevin Johnson -- are no longer with the club.
McCutcheon has seen many others who have come and gone during his tenure.
"For me to be able to get three contracts here, that means a lot," he said. "I've been busting my butt, and it has paid off."
McCutcheon wasn't regarded as a good tackler when the Browns picked him in the third round of the '99 draft out of Southern California. But he worked at it, and has become the team's surest open-field tackler.
The other knock on the 5-foot-10, 190-pouder was his size. But McCutcheon has dispelled that, too, handling much taller wide receivers.
"I came in like, 'Man, I've got something to prove,' " he said. "I wanted to show everyone that I can play in this league, not just as a special teams player. I can start and line up against any receiver in the NFL."
McCutcheon views his time with the Browns as a badge of honor. He feels fortunate to be one of the few to have made it through five trying years.
"It's just made me tougher," he said. "We've been through the tough times. I'm just looking forward to the better times now."
Thompson injury
Browns starting linebacker Chaun Thompson will undergo surgery after breaking a bone in his left wrist during practice.
Browns coach Butch Davis said Thompson injured his wrist a few days ago but continued to play with it in a soft cast.
Today, he'll have a pin inserted into the wrist. The second-year linebacker is expected to miss at least the club's first two preseason games.
While Thompson is out, Ben Taylor will move into his spot at strongside linebacker. Taylor started eight games there last season.
The Browns are expecting big things this season from Thompson, a relative unknown when the club selected him with the 52nd overall pick last year out of West Texas A & amp;M.
Thompson played mostly on special teams as a rookie in 2003.