Kellen Winslow and LeCharles Bentley were both no-shows at the voluntary Browns minicamp yesterday and neither is expected to show today.  They have very different reasons for skipping out and very different levels of import for the Browns in 2008.

We’ll take the easy one first.  Bentley is still rehabbing the knee injury that cost him the 2007 season and hasn’t taken a physical.  He can’t practice until he does and if he’s not ready to pass it, there’s little reason for him to take it.  The Browns are deep on the offensive line and if Bentley can’t make it back, it wouldn’t appear to be a major setback for the team.

Winslow, on the other hand, looms large in their plans.  He’s been rehabbing his surgically repaired knee at home in San Diego but there’s talk that he’s also looking to re-do his contract which has three years left.  Drew Rosenhaus had no comment when the Plain Dealer called to ask him about Winslow’s whereabouts but G.M.  Phil Savage said the team’s paying Winslow fairly and didn’t indicate a willingness to revisit his pact.

Given his injury history, Winslow wouldn’t seem to have much leverage just yet but turning in another 80-catch, 1,000-yard campaign would likely get him the new deal he craves.  Braylon Edwards is also agitating for a new contract so the Browns will have to do a delicate balancing act to avoid upsetting one or both men as they address the demands over the next couple of years.