Browns tight end Kellen Winslow wants a new contract.  But what he wants and what he gets likely will be two very different things.

As one league source told us on Saturday, “His body is deteriorating at a rate faster than his performance is going to improve.”

And that’s really the issue.  The “smart” organizations don’t pay players for past performance if there’s no reason to be absolutely confident that such performance will continue.  In Winslow’s case, he has put in a couple of solid years, despite injuries arising from his misadventures on a motorcycle.  He at times has willed himself to play (after all, he’s a “f–king soldier”), but sooner or later his will won’t be enough.  His body will eventually betray him.

So with Winslow under contract for three more years, there’s simply no reason to give him a pile of new money. 

But the broader question is whether the Browns are willing to do something with the deal in order to keep Winslow happy.  A new deal that pushes some of his future salaries forward ($4 million in 2008, $4.5 million in 2009, $4.75 million in 2010), and that plugs in new incentives would be a way to throw him a bone without taking too big of a risk.

Though we typically believe that players need to honor their deals, there’s a certain amount of wisdom in rewarding a guy who has played through pain as heroically as Winslow has for the past two seasons.  If there’s a way to satisfy him without setting a bad precedent, it makes sense for the Browns to explore it.