Browns' Jurevicius planning comeback

BEREA, Ohio -- Joe the Football Player isn't ready to give up the game he loves.

Cleveland wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, forced to sit out the 2008 season because of a serious staph infection in his surgically repaired right knee, plans to come back next season for his beloved Browns.

"I'm not giving up," he said. "I'm playing next year. It's not, I'm going to try. I am playing next year."

The passionate 33-year-old, who grew up in the Cleveland area and attended Browns games as a kid, Jurevicius revealed Monday that he has undergone five procedures in the past 10 months to clean out staph, which he contracted following arthroscopic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in January.

Jurevicius is one of five known Browns players to get staph in the past three years, an outbreak that led to the team calling in infectious control specialists for assistance. Kellen Winslow recently had a second bout with staph, and the tight end was briefly suspended by the team for criticizing its handling of his hospitalization.

Jurevicius plans to have another operation on his knee to remove scar tissue. But instead of going back to the Clinic, he'll have his next procedure performed by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo. Jurevicius said he contracted staph within 1 1/2 weeks of his surgery. He isn't sure where he got it.

"I'm not a doctor," he said. "I'm not here to point fingers, whether it was the Cleveland Clinic or the Browns' facility. All I know is that I contracted a staph infection and wasn't happy with it. It is what it is. I battled, still have some work to do and we go from there, but now is not the time for me to point fingers."

He was asked about his theory on why the Browns have had so many staph cases.

"There's been some numbers here and it does make people open their eyes," he said. "I just feel that for me personally, I've seen enough of the Cleveland Clinic in terms of the amount of times I've been in there. For me, I would personally just like to start with a clean slate, a fresh chalkboard and write the rest of the story up. That's the reason I plan on going out to Vail. But I will be back here after that."

Jurevicius, who also played for the New York Giants, Tampa Bay and Seattle, signed as a free agent with the Browns in 2005. It was his dream to end his career in Cleveland, and he's determined to see it through.

Jurevicius wants to leave the NFL on his own terms, not because of an infection he was powerless to stop. When he's done, he hopes to walk off the field at Browns Stadium in uniform and with daughters Caroline and Ava under each arm.

"I don't want them to see me give up," he said. "I could take the easy way out and say I'm done. I'm going to take the tough road and I'm not done.

"I'm going to play."