BEREA — Kellen Winslow Jr. was out of sight, but not out of mind Wednesday at Browns team headquarters.
Coach Romeo Crennel was deluged with questions about the Pro Bowl tight end’s
one-game suspension, as were many of Cleveland’s veteran players and team captains.
They weren’t eager, however, to share their feelings on Winslow developing another staph infection, his franchise-imposed exile or his ongoing friction with general manager Phil Savage.
“There is nothing new for me to report. What can I tell you?’’ Crennel said. “You’ve got all the information, so I’ve got nothing to tell you. The organization made a decision (Tuesday) and action was taken. I informed Kellen and he was disappointed.
“He’ll be back with us Monday, but my job now is to get the team ready for the Jacksonville game (Sunday on the road).’’
Before shifting his attention to the Jaguars, the coach did reveal additional details about the way Winslow and the franchise handled the tight end’s recent three-night hospital stay and medical diagnosis.
Crennel said it was a “mutual agreement’’ between the Browns and their leading receiver not to publicly discuss his condition, which Winslow revealed during a postgame rant against the organization Sunday in Washington.
That information blackout included all of his teammates, who were not told the 25-year-old had contracted staph “because he was in the hospital and that was a personal issue,’’ the coach said.
Surprisingly, the latter point did not concern tight end Darnell Dinkins, running back Jamal Lewis or any other players questioned.
“It was a personal matter, and, as a man, you have the right to keep it to yourself,’’ said Dinkins, who is the team’s NFL Players Association representative. “If you’re concerned about any issue, it’s up to you to do the research and make up your mind. Pick up a book and learn more about it.’’
A United States Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet about staph infections says they are contagious, specifically warning people not to “share towels or other items that are contaminated.’’
Dinkins, though, has assured his peers that the Browns are doing all they can to prevent the spread of the bacteria that has affected five players in a four-year span, including Winslow at least twice.
“There is no way to really reduce the staph issue, which is why it’s affecting so many teams in different sports on different levels,’’ he said. “The Browns are trying to be as proactive as they can be with the Sani Sport (equipment sterilization machine) and all the cleaning they do around here. I’m confident the organization is doing everything it can to keep all of us healthy.’’
Winslow, meanwhile, is doing all he can to have his suspension reduced by the NFL, having filed a formal letter of appeal through agent Drew Rosenhaus. He currently stands to lose $235,294 — 1/17th of his $4 million salary — if the Browns’ punishment is upheld.
Another Rosenhaus client, Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, recently had his two-game team suspension cut in half after appealing it. He returned to play in Cleveland’s 35-14 rout of New York on Oct. 13, which Winslow sat out with what was then referred to as an illness.
An arbitration hearing will be held either Friday or Saturday in Cleveland to determine Winslow’s status for the Jaguars game, according to Adam Kaiser, the outside counsel for the NFLPA on the case.
Kaiser said that the Browns will have to present their case with witnesses to the arbiter and can’t just send an attorney. Winslow is also permitted to testify on his behalf.
“We are confident the arbitrator will not sustain the suspension and he will be available to play Sunday,’’ Kaiser said.
If the suspension is deemed inappropriate, Winslow will be eligible to play immediately, though Crennel can make him one of the club’s eight game-day inactives.
“We didn’t have him against New York and were able to get things done,’’ quarterback Derek Anderson said. “Nobody blinked, nobody stressed out about anything. Steve (Heiden) is a damn good tight end and he can step in.’’
While Anderson was willing to talk about backups Heiden, Dinkins and Martin Rucker taking Winslow’s spot on the field, he declined to comment on his suspension, saying, “The organization made a decision.’’
That five-word sentence, which was identical to Crennel’s comment minutes earlier, was repeated verbatim in separate interviews by Dinkins, Lewis and kicker Phil Dawson — either making it a remarkable coincidence or a party line concocted behind closed doors.
All involved agreed on one additional point: The sooner Winslow and the Browns put this conflict behind them, the better off everyone will be.
“Look, this is the NFL. They own us, we are products to the NFL,’’ wide receiver Joshua Cribbs said. “We are bound by certain rules to keep the integrity of not only the NFL, but the team.
“We talked with (Kellen) as a team and as individuals, and his head is in the right place right now. We have advised him to keep it amongst the team. He understands and he is going to own up to everything like a man, and that’s what he is doing now.’’
Contact Brian Dulik at (330) 721-4059 or brisports@hotmail.com.

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