Savvy Savage has Browns ready to challenge Steelers, AFC

They swarmed the kid working out, the NFL scouts hounding his every move. They expected a lot, his reputation was big after all, but most didn't seem to get what they wanted from the workout, leaving disappointed.

Savage and Crennel have done the big job of turning around the Browns. (Getty Images)

But one scout didn't let that workout change his assessment. He knew the kid could play, and that's what mattered. It was all on the tape. So as the scout left that workout five years ago, he did so with a sly smile on his face, hoping like heck the poor showing would help drop the player down to his team.

"Bad workout?" the scout said that day. "Let them all think that."

The player did drop. The scout's team did pick him. That player was Baltimore Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs.

That scout was Phil Savage, now the general manager of the Cleveland Browns.

That's one of my favorite Savage stories. We both still joke about it. I knew he was playing coy back then since I knew he wasn't one of those scouts who let Suggs' so-so workout at the Arizona State campus change his conviction.

That's when I knew for sure Savage would someday make a good general manager, not for the ability to push papers or deal with travel arrangements, but for his football savvy.

Now we're seeing that in action. Savvy Savage has the Browns on the move.

Savage has had as active an offseason as any general manager in the league, trying to push his team to the top of the AFC North -- and beyond. He has spent the past couple of weeks making trades to shore up his defensive line and signing his leading rusher and one of his quarterbacks to a contract extension, basically taking a team that made strides last season and making it even better.

Is it too much to say the Browns are ready to take over in the AFC North?

"We still have to beat the Steelers first," Savage said.

The Steelers won the division last year, but the Browns surprised many when they finished 10-6 and tied the Steelers for the division lead. But they lost both games to the Steelers and missed out on a wild-card spot. That taste of playoff possibility led to a contract extension for coach Romeo Crennel and earned Savage respect around the league, and his offseason work continues that trend.

In the past month, he's given starting quarterback Derek Anderson, a surprise find last season, a three-year contract extension even though he traded this year's first-round pick last April to take Brady Quinn. Anderson's deal, which includes a $5 million bonus payment due next spring, allows the Browns to get more time evaluating Anderson. If he plays well, they have a decision next spring with relation to Quinn. If he does not, Quinn is the guy and Anderson will likely be out.