Browns Blog

First impressions

I admit that I was surprised when Rogers entered the room with coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage. Rogers wouldn't reveal his weight, but it looked well proportioned on his 6-foot-4 frame. Over the years I've seen many linemen that looked simply fat, but Rogers isn't among them.

Reports out of Detroit, where Rogers played the last seven seasons, revealed his battles with his weight. Reports also mentioned a lack of motivation at times, which was the last straw for Lions coach Rod Marinelli. The rift led to a trade to the Browns in exchange for a third-round draft pick and cornerback Leigh Bodden.

No one can predict if Rogers will be a motivational problem or not for Crennel, but for now his weight doesn't appear to be an issue. Asked how much he weighs, he said, "a comfortable weight."

Rogers said all the right things during the rpess conference. Of course, you'd expect that to be the case considering that he was sitting between Crennel and Savage.

The bottom line is that Rogers and defensive end Corey Williams, who was acquired in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, are good additions. With just Shaun Smith and Robaire Smith to depend on a week ago, Crennel can now prepare to have four productive players on the defensive line.

Crennel can only hope that Rogers doesn't stand in too many food lines between now and training camp.