TWO GOOD MEN BUT A REALLY BAD MOVE

By STEVE KING

I like Browns General Manager John Dorsey – a lot.

I like former Browns outside linebacker Clay Matthews – a lot.

It’s a no-brainer to like them. I’m sure all of you do, too. Both have made indelible imprints on the organization.

But I don’t like what happened on Wednesday when the Browns, in a move that clearly appeared to be spearheaded by Dorsey, announced that Matthews will be inducted into their prestigious Ring of Honor. He will be the first member of the Ring of Honor who is not also enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Any way you want to look at it – any way the Browns tried to spin it – it is wrong, wrong, wrong, a million times wrong. And it will absolutely never, ever be right, under any circumstances. It is short-sighted, foolish and very dangerous in that it opens up several cans of worms.

Matthews was a truly great player, having been a semifinalist for HOF induction on three occasions, including for the next round of inductions in February 2020. He is well-deserving of his place as a Cleveland Browns Legend, the team’s hall of fame.

But he is not – not yet, at least, and in all likelihood he never will be – a Pro Football Hall of Famer. As longtime Green resident and now-retired HOF Executive Vice President of Communications and Exhibits Joe Horrigan, the smartest pro football man around, told me several times when I asked him about Matthews, “Clay Matthews is in the Hall of the Very Good,” which is to say he doesn’t quite measure up for the HOF.

What does Matthews’ addition to the Ring of Honor say to the other 16 members, the Hall of Famers?

What does it say to the other Browns who are also right now in the Hall of the Very Good?

And why was Matthews selected and not someone else? What’s so special about him in comparison to the others?

Yikes! What a hot mess!