Bart Scott Once Hid In A Bathroom To Avoid Signing With The Cleveland Browns

Former Ravens and Jets linebacker Bart Scott has always had the gift of gab. It’s what landed him a gig on the CBS NFL pregame show just after he retired, and it’s what makes him a great storyteller. Then again, it helps if you have a really funny story to tell; doubly so if that story involves crapping on the Cleveland Browns.

Scott was on Bleacher Report’s Simms & Lefkoe Podcast on Thursday when the Browns came up, probably because of their continued mishandling of Johnny Manziel. Scott told the tale of how, when he hit free agency for the first time, he was at the Browns’ facility getting ready to sign a contract when Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome called at the last moment to tell Scott they wanted him back. Scott took the call in the bathroom to avoid the Browns interrupting him, and made a hasty retreat. He said he even “threw up the deuces,” which means giving someone the middle finger where I come from.

That last part of the story is almost certainly an exaggeration, but how amazing is the mental image of a relieved Bart flipping off Romeo Crennel as he backs out of a free agent contract? Imagine Crennel’s crestfallen look (though, to be fair, he always looks either crestfallen or catatonic). I’m sure that would have been classic.