Butch, once again, is incredible. Make that uncredible. From a transcript posted on Bernie’s Insiders on Feb. 21:

Q: Why give Jamel White permission to seek a trade?

Davis: We think Jamel has value for this football team. He’s proven it the last three years. This is kind of at his request. He’s looking at the roster and wanting a bigger piece of the pie.

Q: Will you pay Jamel’s $350K roster bonus in March?

Davis: Uh, yeah, we intend to.

Needless to say, the Browns (confirming the fear I expressed in my Jan. 7 discussion of the running backs) cut White on Friday, just before he would have been due his roster bonus. With no team willing to part with so much as a conditional seventh-round pick in 2008 in exchange for White under his current contract, he’s now free to find a coach who will actually appreciate his talents and work ethic.

The new Browns have tried all sorts of running backs in their first five years — Kirby, Abdul-Jabbar, Prentice, Gay, Hill, Rhett, Jackson, Green, and Suggs. But it’s the undrafted gym rat, Jamel White, the one Davis never thought good enough to be the man, who leads them all in yards from scrimmage (2,597) and touchdowns (11) in his four seasons here. Add in another 1,147 in kick returns, and consider that he fumbled only twice in 571 touches. He’ll find steady work somewhere, and I’ll be rooting for him.