When Joe Jurevicius, one of the newest Cleveland Browns, takes the field next September, he will be the oldest wide receiver to play for the Browns since their resurrection in 1999.
In fact, by my unofficial reckoning, he’ll be the oldest Browns WR since Reggie Rucker, who was 34 in his final season back in 1981.
Jurevicius, 31, came to the press conference sporting jersey number 84. The previous bearer of that number, Andre King, was also the oldest Browns receiver of the new era before Jurevicius came along.
General manager Phil Savage believes local boy JJ will bring a “calming presence” to the locker room. That would be a welcome improvement over King, who was widely believed to be one of Butch Davis’ locker room spies.
Jurevicius is a big player: 6-5, 230 pounds. Has there even been a more sizable wideout in orange and brown? He said the first NFL player he ever met was Dave Logan, who was listed at 6-4, 221.
He’s also a big name player. Go back (if you dare) to Darrin Chiaverini in 2000 to find as many letters or syllables in a Browns WR’s surname.
And more importantly, he’s also played in big games. Only five other men have played in Super Bowls for three different teams. It would be most welcome if he would make his hometown team the fourth.
