Steelers Shot Down By Browns Great Joshua Cribbs After His Departure From Cleveland

For years now, the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to find an elite return man. Ray-Ray McCloud became the team's best option on special teams in years, but he quickly departed in free agency in 2022. Then Gunner Olszewski was a disaster, as his continuous mistakes led to his release earlier this season. While the return game is a lost art in today's game, it still can help swing field position.

Just a few years ago, they were close to landing one of the best returners in NFL history. Steelers fans should be familiarized with the name Joshua Cribbs. He spent eight seasons with the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns, where he was a three-time Pro Bowler. In a recent appearance on the Since '99: A Cleveland QB Story podcast with Sir Yacht, Cribbs admitted that he nearly headed to Pittsburgh back in 2013.

"I knew it was over here in Cleveland. So I wanted to still play. It's funny, the first team to offer me was the Steelers. I just was quiet about it because a lot of people were like, 'You shoulda took it.' But I just could not see myself coming back into Browns stadium. To me, you couldn't do that. That's at least [what] I thought... I was just too diehard to the fan base," Cribbs said.

After eight seasons with the Browns, the two sides moved on from each other after the 2012 season. He was coming off his third Pro Bowl appearance and would go on to play a season for both the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts in the subsequent seasons. After 2014, Cribbs retired from the NFL after a total of 10 NFL seasons. While he didn't enjoy the same amount of success with the Jets and Colts, he still retired as one of the most electric returners of all-time.

Cribbs never provided much of a real impact on offense either, as he was a true returner. In 10 NFL seasons, he finished with 110 career catches for 1,175 and seven receiving touchdowns. Cribbs was able to have some success as a runner in the Browns' offense though, as he racked up 808 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his career there. 

Could The Steelers Have Used Cribbs In 2013?

Cribbs had his fair share of success against the Steelers over the years too. Cribbs had three of his career touchdowns against the Steelers, all of which came in the return game. Fortunately, things ended up working out for the Steelers. In the season that Cribbs would have joined Pittsburgh, fourth-year wide receiver Antonio Brown was still a prolific punt returner. 

That year's team used several different guys on kick returns, but Brown averaged 12.8 yards per punt return which included one touchdown. Remember, before he was a great wideout, Brown was a legitimate difference-maker in the return game. In fact, he made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner in 2011, his second season in the NFL. Entering Brown's fourth NFL season, the team seemingly wanted to save his health for the offensive side of the ball. 

Since the team missed out on Cribbs, Brown had to be used on punt returns. It's still interesting to think that Cribbs could have signed with Pittsburgh after eight years with its division rival. Of course, one of his former teammates, Joe Haden, did just that. In a similar situation, Haden joined the Steelers immediately after his tenure came to an end in Cleveland. Unfortunately, Steelers fans will always remember Cribbs for the amount of success that he had against the team over the years.

How much an impact would Cribbs have provided on the 2013 Steelers that finished 8-8? What moments do you remember in the Cribbs-Steelers rivalry? What were your favorite memories of Antonio Brown as a returner? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!

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