Andra Davis isn’t a typical professional athlete. He’s not searching for every last dollar.
Andra Davis isn’t a typical man. He doesn’t let ego impair his judgment.
Andra Davis had been a starting linebacker for five years when the Browns came to him in the offseason and asked him to take a 40 percent pay cut this season while they terminated the final two years of a five-year, $20 million contract signed in December 2005.
Most athletes would’ve turned up their nose at the chance to make “only” 1.675 million in 2008 and walked away from the organization that drafted them in the fifth round in 2002. Most men would’ve been too insulted to listen to the team’s rationale.
Not Andra Davis. He listened as coach Romeo Crennel talked about the team’s plan to acquire big-time defensive linemen and its desire to keep Davis. Then he devoted himself to having a great season.
“Me and my wife, money is the last thing on our minds,” he said of Monique, his childhood sweetheart from Live Oak, Fla. “We grew up dirt poor. I’m doing way better than 99 percent of the people.
“We’re not the type of people who just blow money. We’ve barely touched our signing bonus from two years ago. I’m not going to be one of those guys when they leave this league they’re broke.”
And he wasn’t one of those guys who left a team just because someone else might’ve thought he’d been disrespected.
“Cleveland is my home,” he said. “I’d love to finish my career here. I can only do what I can do — work hard and we’ll see.
“Why leave now? We’re building something. I’ve been through the bad years, so I’ll try to stick around through the good years.”
Plenty of athletes know how to talk a good game. But Davis seems sincere when he says he carries no bitterness and never considered leaving.
“When you watch how he operates and conducts himself off the field, he’s not just saying it,” said Leon Williams, Davis’ chief competitor for playing time at strong-side inside linebacker. “He’s really about his family, he’s really about the players, he’s really about winning. He really wants to be here.”
Davis, 29, insists he doesn’t carry a chip on his shoulder, but his play through a week of camp suggests otherwise. He’s been noticeably active — even with increased time on special teams — and has delivered a few hits a beat after the whistle.
“We all have a chip for Dra,” inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “Hopefully in the end, everything will work itself out.
“Dra has a saying, he could always be working at Wal-Mart. He’s making the best out of the situation.”
Davis looks like a clear-cut starter, as evidenced by the decision to give him the lone helmet with capabilities to hear defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. He is replaced by Williams on passing downs — a fact that contributed to a disappointing 2007.
Davis, who started every game he played from 2003-06, started 10 of 16 games last year and recorded 104 tackles, his lowest total for a full season. His snaps were cut from 1,000 to 640.
“I didn’t know how to handle it,” Davis said. “At first I didn’t think I was getting that many snaps. But when you get 640 snaps, you should be able to make some plays.”
Davis classified 2007 as his worst season. He had seen veteran linebackers Earl Holmes and Dwayne Rudd dismissed after his rookie season, but had the typical athlete’s attitude.
“It wasn’t going to happen to me,” he said. “I’ve been playing since my second year, it’s my team. But then when it did happen, it was a tough adjustment. It was very humbling.”
Seven months later, Davis is excited about the prospects of a playoff appearance and making a tackle without having to fend off multiple offensive linemen.
That’s where defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams enter the picture. The two trade acquisitions total nearly 700 pounds and should do a better job occupying opposing linemen — a weakness of previous lines.
“It’s a huge difference,” Davis said. “I’ve got to take advantage of that.”
“We’ve got a chance to see his production pick up,” Crennel said. “I’m glad that he decided to hang around because I like him a lot, I think he’s good for our team.”
Davis was asked repeatedly about what will happen after 2008, when he’ll become a free agent. What if he can no longer call himself a Cleveland Brown?
“I’d be foolish to be thinking about what happens at the end of this year when we have a great opportunity in front of us now,” he said. “It’s all about the present and taking advantage of this opportunity. We’ve never had this much talent since I’ve been here.”
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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