Strait's Round Trip

In The N.Y.Times:

Strait Returns After Jets Reject Trade With Browns

By DAVID PICKER
Published: August 17, 2006
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Aug. 16 ? Derrick Strait showed up for Jets practice on Wednesday as if nothing had changed. And in a sense, nothing had. He still wore No. 20. He still had a locker next to Jonathan Vilma. And he still wore an easy smile.

But Strait was coming off a bizarre 24 hours that had the potential to alter his life.

The Jets traded Strait, a cornerback, to the Cleveland Browns on Monday afternoon for running back Lee Suggs. Strait gathered his belongings into a small bag, boarded a 6 p.m. flight out of La Guardia Airport and arrived in Cleveland at 8 p.m. He passed a physical with the Browns that night.

Strait was in a team meeting Tuesday afternoon when the Browns informed him that Suggs had failed a physical with the Jets earlier in the day, nullifying the trade. Strait boarded a 3:30 p.m. flight and arrived at La Guardia at 5:15 p.m.
?It was kind of shocking, but it?s part of the job,? Strait said of his initial reaction to the failed deal. ?It?s a business. Everybody knows the N.F.L. is a business. So you just have to roll with the punches.?

The 25-year-old Strait did not get a chance to open the Browns? playbook, which he returned before heading back to New York. He also did not have an opportunity to unpack during his stay in a Cleveland hotel. ?It was just for a night,? he said.

Strait unpacked after returning to his Long Island apartment Tuesday night. But that might not have been the wisest move. The Jets have an abundance of cornerbacks, and they still need to bolster their running game. Another trade could happen at any moment.

General Manager Mike Tannenbaum fielded questions from the news media for 15 minutes Wednesday, saying the Jets would seek talent through waivers, free agency and trades. He would not comment on why Suggs failed his physical.

After the deal fell through, the Browns? general manager, Phil Savage, hinted that Suggs was physically fit. Their coach, Romeo Crennel, went a step further, suggesting that the Jets might have scuttled the trade intentionally, though he did not specify why.

Tannenbaum brushed off the comments, noting that he had respect for Savage. Earlier in the day, Jets Coach Eric Mangini pointed out that he had a close friendship with Crennel, whom he coached with on the New England Patriots.

Mangini said he was pleased to have Strait at camp, and many players welcomed back Strait with good-natured ribbing.

Strait said he harbored no ill feelings toward the Jets.

?A good business decision,? he said of the trade for Suggs, ?because both teams got things that they needed to help their teams. That?s just how I looked at it.?

The Browns needed help in their secondary, and Strait would have had a chance to start. He has never lived up to expectations with the Jets.

Strait, who can also play safety, was drafted in the third round in 2004 out of Oklahoma, where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation?s best college defensive back. He has 36 tackles with no interceptions in 21 games with the Jets.

On one of the first plays of practice Wednesday, Strait intercepted a pass and returned it about 20 yards for a touchdown. The play would have been impressive had it not occurred during an interception drill.

No one cheered the score, and Strait did not gloat. It felt just like an ordinary day at Jets practice.

EXTRA POINTS

On Wednesday morning, the Jets met with Grady Jackson, the former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle. They are looking to fill a hole at backup nose tackle. But General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said, ?There?s nothing imminent there.?