[UPDATE 3/11 3:15 p.m.] Whitner is officially a Cleveland Brown.
O-H-.......
— DonteHitner (@DonteWhitner) March 11, 2014
Donte Whitner's four-year deal with the Cleveland Browns is worth $28 million.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 11, 2014
Donte Whitner's next stop in his professional career will apparently be with his hometown Cleveland Browns. Per Cleveland.com:
49ers safety Donte Whitner expects to sign with his hometown Cleveland Browns shortly after 4 p.m. today, a source close to Whitner told cleveland.com.
[...]
The source said Whitner is excited to return to Cleveland and help turn his beloved city around. He starred at Glenville High under Ted Ginn Sr. and at Ohio State.
"This would be a chance for him to come back home and give back to the community,'' the source. "He feels it's his responsibility to make his hometown a better place.''
You can almost feel Jim Tressel (and Ted Ginn Sr.) beaming with pride as he reads those last two paragraphs.
This likely means the end of Pro Bowl safety TJ Ward's reign in Cleveland. Whitner would be the first move in the Browns' apparent quest to make a splash in this free agency window. The team is rumored to be the front-runner for Arizona's Karlos Dansby and could be cooking up a trade for Tampa Bay's Darrelle Revis.
