Chris Kirksey Serves As Symbol of Browns Instability

Christian Kirksey spent six seasons with the Cleveland Browns and at no point during his tenure did the team have anything that resembles stability or consistency. Until they can do that, the Browns little hope to be successful on a meaningful scale.

The Cleveland Browns released Chris Kirksey on Tuesday after six seasons with the team. He was drafted in 2014 by then general manager Ray Farmer, played through the Sashi Brown regime, was in Cleveland for John Dorsey's tenure and leaves at the start of Andrew Berry's. Since Joe Thomas retired after the 2017 season, Kirksey and Joel Bitonio, also drafted in 2014, became the longest tenured players on the team.

None of this is about Kirksey as a player. He was great earlier in his career when he didn't miss a game for the first four years and looked to be a foundation piece for the future when he signed his contract extension. Two years later and 23 games missed to injury aren't a reflection on him. It's entirely about what he has gone on around him during the time he's been a member of the Browns.

The fact that Kirksey's six-year tenure feels like such a long time illustrates the experience of being a Browns fan. Seasons age fans in dog years. The Baltimore Ravens are saying goodbye to Marshal Yanda, retiring after 13 seasons tomorrow. The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for Ben Roethlisberger's 17th season and the Cincinnati Bengals are preparing to re-sign A.J. Green for his ninth year.

With the exception of Joe Thomas, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Browns have been unable to establish a foundation and stick with it for a meaningful amount of time, which helps explains their inability to succeed. Four different regimes and what will be Joel Bitonio's fifth different head coach makes it almost impossible to get anywhere.

None of this is to suggest the Browns should stick with a bad regime simply to say they have, but they must find a pairing that can be effective and back it so they can succeed. Poor choices in those positions combined with pressure and acting out of one's own self interest in order to survive is a recipe for disaster. Irrational decision making from ownership has been a major factor why the Browns have been unable to be a consistent organization. That decision making created a snowball effect that they may only finally be able to resolve now.

The Browns have more talent on paper, but that didn't do them much good last season as they finished 6-10, despite playoff aspirations entering the season. The Browns are hoping  that Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry can be the last group Bitonio plays for in his career as a member of the Browns. If the players they draft in April can play productive careers with the Browns where Stefanski is the only head coach they have, it would suggest the team is on a more productive path forward. 

It's disappointing that Kirksey won't be a part of it and that a promising career and a better person largely languished as a member of the Cleveland Browns. With the potential to have a number of young stars including Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward among, it's imperative the Browns get it right. Already on their third head coach in their young careers, the potential is there for the Browns to waste their talents and the sacrifices made to acquire them.