Raiders acquire Kamerion Wimbley from Browns
The Oakland Raiders struck a deal with the trade happy Cleveland Browns on Sunday, acquiring linebacker Kamerion Wimbley.
The 26-year old was the Browns 13th overall selection in the 2006 draft when then general manager Phil Savage stated, “The very first time I saw Kamerion in person I said, ‘This is the prototype’ — the arm length, the knee bend, the athletic ability, the flexibility.”
When Cleveland selected him, Savage proclaimed, “There’s no reason to think he won’t have an outstanding, Pro Bowl-caliber career.”
As a rookie, Wimbley tallied 11 sacks, but as the team struggled on defense in his second campaign, so did he with a sophomore jinx although he led the team with 5 sacks.
As the 2009 season was winding down, Browns head coach Eric Mangini commented, “Kamerion Wimbley has made a ton of progress from the beginning of the season to where he is now in terms of his approach to the game plan. It’s dramatic.”
Mangini praised his work ethic, study habits and discipline on the football field.
“The amount of mental errors he has made is dramatically different,” said Mangini. “It’s a great thing to see.”
Wimbley had five sacks in the first seven games of the season. He missed a game against the Steelers with the flu and when he got back into the line-up, opponents keyed the linebacker, which freed up other teammates.
“I’ve been doing a lot of positive things as far as growth and development,” Wimbley said. “I’ve put in a lot of hours off the field, learning more about defensive schemes and everybody’s role within our scheme and how it affects me. Just knowing a lot more about the game and the Xs and Os has helped me play faster.”
The Browns moved him around on defense, another reason why he Mangini was happy to see his development.
“It gives opposing teams a different look and made it a little more difficult for them to prepare,” Wimbley said. “It gives us things that we can play around with in the game, bringing other people from different spots and then not knowing where they’re coming from. It just mixes it up a little bit.”
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, as many outlets are reporting Oakland gave up “undisclosed draft compensation.”
At the end of the 2009 season, Wimbley stated, “I think I’ve gotten better every year and I plan on continuing to do that.”
