Two more weeks. Two more games.

At 0-14, the Cleveland Browns are in danger of joining some unfortunate company. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't win a game in their first NFL season, but they only played 14 games. The only team to go 0-16 is the 2008 Lions.

The Browns have two more chances to avoid a winless fate. On Saturday, they play the San Diego Chargers before suiting up against the rival Steelers on the final Sunday of the season.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press recently spoke with various members of that 2008 Lions squad, asking them for their thoughts on the possibility of the Browns joining them at 0-16.

Interestingly enough, the consensus is that they don't want any company in their agony.

(Continue article below)

Recommended Video

Here's former Detroit linebacker Ryan Nece, from Birkett:

Nobody’s celebrating being a loser. That’s not company that you want to share,” Nece said. “We want these guys to win. We’re not hoping that they’re sharing our record or sharing what we went through. That’s not something that you wish on anybody.”

“I feel for them,” Nece, now managing partner of the Los Angeles-based venture fund Next Play Capital, told the Free Press this week. “To be where they are now, there’s only a few men and a few coaches that have gone through what they’ve gone through. It is extremely challenging and it’s something that I’m actually hoping that they find a way to get a win, because just to be able to get that monkey off their back in the next two games, I think will be tremendous for them.”

Long snapper Don Muhlbach, who still plays for the Lions, echoed this sentiments:

“I don’t want to have anyone have to go through that,” Lions long snapper Don Muhlbach said. “I just remember how rough that was. Just every week, having to just — it just kept building and building. That’s not football, in my mind. There’s too much other stuff going on, too. I hope they get one.”

Going 0-16 has ramifications that extend away from that particular season, as well:

White, a local developer and realtor who retired after the 2009 season, said he felt somewhat blackballed by other NFL teams because of his standing with the Lions.

“As an athlete, you’re as good as your last performance or your last team and you become a loser, essentially, in the minds of people,” White said.