Camp Confidential
 
Every camp you visit at this time of year has one or two players who causes you to do a double-take. Today's takee: Ted Washington.

Yes, this condominium-complex of a defensive tackle, now 39, is in camp moving as well as a 390-pound man can possibly move and is penciled in as the starter again at nose tackle for the Browns. He started all 16 games last year for Cleveland.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked him after practice today. "I'm blessed, first of all," Washington said. "They say I'm too big, too heavy, too fat to keep playing. Well, all I know is that I've been here 17 years. I'm still playing at a high level, so I must be doing something right."

Washington, quite simply, is the biggest man I've ever seen play pro football. I'm amazed that he's now started 48 straight regular season games the last three years. He broke into pro football in 1991 as a first-round pick with the 49ers. He played there for three years, one in Denver, six in Buffalo, two in Chicago, one in New England (he got traded to the Patriots, via the Bears, and started in Super Bowl XXXVIII against Carolina at the nose), two in Oakland and, so far, one in Cleveland.

"The way I feel right now, I'd love to play two more," said Washington.

It's amazing enough the guy has played 17 years in the NFL. But to be talking about playing 18, 19 or maybe even 20 ... that would be one of the unique feats in recent NFL history.