OF HIGGINS, HISTORY AND HOT WATER
By STEVE KING
Rashard Higgins departed the Browns with the same class he had displayed while playing for them, penning a heartfelt, I’ll-really-miss-ya goodbye note as he signed with the New England Patriots in free agency,
In doing so, he only helped his already strong legacy in Cleveland.
But here’s something else to think about when discussing Higgins, and it’s much, much bigger than his legacy.
That is, what if Higgins had not had the ball stripped from his grasp when he reached out and tried to extend it over the goal line for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2020 AFC divisional playoffs? The ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback, not just denying the Browns of what would have been a huge score but also giving the ball to the Chiefs with a first down on the KC 20.
What if, instead, Higgins had held onto the ball and scored, and the Browns did not lose the game by a score of 22-17 but rather won it 24-22, advancing them to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 31 years in Buffalo against the Bills? And what if the Browns had gone on to defeat the Bills and moved on to their first Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? l
If so, then Higgins would have become one of many heroes from the KC game and, in finally proving himself to be a big-game, big-play guy, likely would not have been allowed to walk away in free agency this year.
And would Baker Mayfield, instead of being not deemed good enough by the Browns to get them where they want to go, have convinced the club he was the franchise quarterback? That, in turn, would have likely made unnecessary the Browns pulling off the trade with the Houston Texans for embattled Deshaun Watson. And without the presence of Watson, and all the baggage he brings, the Browns would not be in so much hot water as the target of all this criticism.
Yes, it’s amazing how one moment, skewed one way or the other, drastically different from each other, by a scant inch or two, can change the course of history in so many situations.
For Immediate Release
April 4, 2022
Browns sign P Corey Bojorquez
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have made the following transaction:
Signed (1):
P Corey Bojorquez
Bojorquez (pronounced bo-HOR-quez) enters his fifth NFL season in 2022, posting 218 punts for 9,890 yards with a 45.4 average since signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Bojorquez handled punting duties in Green Bay last season after being acquired by the Packers via trade with the Los Angeles Rams. He punted 53 times for 2,467 yards with a 46.5 average in 2021. A product of New Mexico, Bojorquez hails from Lakewood, Calif.
