A man without a team, unrestricted free-agent linebacker Jamir Miller is now a player without a contract offer, as well.

Wary of waiting for Miller to decide where he would play in 2003, or even if he planned to return to the field following an Achilles injury that sidelined him all of last season, the Cleveland Browns have withdrawn their one-year proposal to the nine-year veteran.

Although he never publicly set a deadline, Browns team president Carmen Policy hinted very broadly in recent days that time was running out on Miller, a Pro Bowl participant in 2001. With the team poised to begin an organized training stretch next week, the Browns sought a response to their proposal, the only offer Miller had on the table.

And when Miller balked at the one-year offer -- which included a $1 million singing bonus, a base salary of about $700,000, and the ability to dramatically increase the value of the deal through incentives -- the proposal was withdrawn.

Two club sources who insisted Miller is done in Cleveland said negotiations are not expected to be revisited. In fact, Policy apprised agent Leigh Steinberg of that fact in writing.

Miller, 29, was released by the Browns early in the free agency period. That maneuver was pre-arranged, since the Browns had written a $14 million roster bonus they never intended to pay into his contract, to allow Miller to test the market. The feeling was that, if the team maintained an open dialogue with Miller and Steinberg, the linebacker might eventually re-sign.

Despite his visits with the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Bucs the last two months, Miller did not generate strong interest on the free agent market, in part because he was still recovering from the Achilles injury. The Ravens did make an offer, one believed to have been for one year and similar to the Cleveland proposal, but lost interest in Miller when they drafted Arizona State defensive end Terrell Suggs in the first round of the '03 lottery two weeks ago.

That left the Browns as Miller's only viable suitor but Steinberg said the team's plans to use him only as a situational pass-rusher, and recurring problems with the Achilles injury, caused some doubts. Indeed, there have been recent rumors Miller is considering retiring if the Achilles injury does not show progress.

"There's some question in his mind as to whether he could play (in 2003)," Steinberg told The Akron Beacon-Journal, while also noting that Miller still viewed himself as a starting-caliber performer, and not a role player.

A first-round choice of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994, and generally viewed as one of the NFL's top athletes at his position despite a habitual lack of production, Miller joined the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in 1999. He posted a career season in 2001, with 13 sacks, more than he had registered in the three previous seasons combined. For his efforts he was voted to a berth in his first Pro Bowl game.

But in the preseason opener, he suffered the Achilles injury, and was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

The former UCLA star sought to have his contract upgraded after that Pro Bowl season but, while the Browns did enhance the incentives package, they declined to make major changes or to extend the deal. Instead, the prohibitive $14 million roster bonus was added as a mechanism that would force Cleveland to either restructure the contract this spring or release Miller outright.

The club chose the latter.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.