Felix Wright Says That All He Did Was Look Everett Right in the Eye

To reach Felix Wright on the Cleveland Browns’ defensive back depth chart, you take a left at Al Gross, a right at Chris Rockins, go past Mark Harper and Stephen Braggs until you hit a dead end.

Then you’ve found Wright, Mr. Anonymity, if there ever was one.

Wright is a free safety who usually has all sorts of free time on his hands. For Wright to enter a game, it takes third and Ohio. He is a nickel back . . . and some pocket change.

Ever since the Browns rescued Wright from the Canadian Football League in 1985, they have used him sparingly, like fine china. Not Monday night.

Monday night, as the Browns disposed of the Rams, 30-17, Wright found himself in demand. So it was only natural, he said later, that he do something nice for the Browns.

In dining room chatter, Wright brought out the good stuff.

For instance, there was that 68-yard interception return in the first period that neatly ended a probable Ram scoring drive.

With the ball on the Brown 6, Wright retrieved a Jim Everett pass off tight end David Hill’s shoulder pads and returned it to the Ram 31. Five plays later, the Browns had a field goal.

Thank you notes can be sent to Wright, who turned at least a Ram field goal into three points for Cleveland.

Then came a second Wright interception, the only difference was that this time it lasted just 40 yards, and Ram running back Charles White couldn’t catch up. That one gave the Browns a 17-0 lead, which would come in handy during the second half when the Rams staged a desperate comeback.

In all, Wright left the field with those two interceptions, 108 yards worth of returns, a touchdown--the first of his short career with Cleveland--and a rare appearance in the postgame interview trailer.

“This is exciting,” he said.

Wright wasn’t supposed to be there. The publicity normally gathers around Brown cornerbacks Frank Minnifield or Hanford Dixon.

But there was Wright, describing each delicious moment. He had finished just eight yards shy of a Browns’ interception return record (Bernie Parrish had a 115-yard game in 1960).

Interception No. 1:

“I just read the quarterback. The tight end ran an out pattern and the ball just ricocheted off him, and I was just in the right place at the right time. All I could see was the goal line. I proceeded to run up the field and I saw Charles White out of the corner of my eye. I just didn’t have enough to outrun him.”

Interception No. 2:

“The second one, we were in double coverage. Everett was looking at (wide receiver Henry) Ellard the whole way. (Everett) didn’t see me at all. He threw the ball, I broke and all I saw was end zone.”

Wright had his moments in the CFL. Once, in the league championship game, he had four interceptions.

But his stay with the Browns has been less eventful. He describes himself as a “possession” defender, a specialist of sorts. He also makes frequent appearances on special teams.

Now this: a break from the back of the depth chart. “I’m just . . . trying to help those guys out,” he said. “But this is my time now.”