Browns HC Likes Bradley Chubb
- Browns coach Hue Jackson has dreamed about a defensive line bookended by former No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett and top prospect Bradley Chubb, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes. “I do at nighttime when I’m by myself,” Jackson said this week. “You kind of play that scenario game with all these different guys. I wish I could have them all. There will be good scenarios as we come down to the end here.” The Browns, of course, are widely expected to select a quarterback at No. 1 overall, but their options are wide open with the No. 4 pick. The Giants and Jets are also likely to select QBs, but even the Giants abstain from choosing Eli Manning‘s successor, either Chubb or Penn State running back Saquon Barkley should be there for the taking. For all of the attention given to the top four QBs in this year’s class, many draft analysts consider Chubb and Barkley to be this year’s top overall talents.
Browns To Sign WR Jeff Janis
The Browns have agreed to sign wide receiver Jeff Janis, Peter Schrager of NFL.com tweets. Janis spent the past four seasons with the Packers. 
At one point in time, there was some buzz about the former seventh-round pick becoming a popular target in Green Bay’s offense. At the 2014 combine, Janis impressed with a 4.42 second 40-yard-dash, a 37.5 inch vertical leap, 20 bench press reps, and a 6.64 second time in the three-cone drill. He became a special teams fixture, but never got much of a chance on offense. His highest level of involvement came in 2016 when he was targeted 19 times and came away with eleven catches for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Janis’ deal is a low-risk proposition for the Browns. At worst, he’s a potential special teams contributor on a cheap contract that can be easily terminated if he doesn’t make the final cut. The Browns could also give him an opportunity to work in the slot, instead of on the outside. Given Janis’ tools, that could be the best way to utilize him.
The Browns now boast one of the league’s best slot weapons in Jarvis Landry and he’ll pair with Josh Gordon at the top of the wide receiver depth chart. Janis will fight for a role in a group that also includes former first-round pick Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis, Rashard Higgins, and Kasen Williams.
Four Teams Interested In Tre Boston
The safety market has moved at a snail’s pace this year and Tre Boston has taken notice. The Chargers free agent says that he is frustrated by the way things unfolded, though tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. Meanwhile, things have stalled with the Bolts because they are looking to pay him more as a “strong safety type of player.” 
“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”
Signing a player like Boston could impact a team’s compensatory pick formula and clubs with safety needs could be waiting until the draft to score top prospects like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, Florida State’s Derwin James, or Stanford’s Justin Reid. The Seahawks are also open to trading Earl Thomas (for a hefty asking price) and that’s probably holding things up for this year’s available veteran safeties. Boston isn’t the only one in a holding pattern – Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are also without NFL homes as we look ahead to April.
“It’s a marginal group,” one executive said of this year’s free agent safety class, noting the lack of top-end speed in the bunch. “You really don’t have one cover safety in the group. You have some decent box types like Vaccaro and Reid, but it’s primarily backup types left.”
Last year, Boston had to settle for a one-year deal. For now, he’s still holding out hope of landing a multi-year pact, but he acknowledges that he may have to do another one-year contract before trying his luck in the open market next year.
Browns Don't Believe They Overpaid For Tyrod Taylor
Some believe that the Browns overpaid for quarterback Tyrod Taylor when they gave up the first pick in the third round for him, but Browns head coach Hue Jackson says that’s not the case.
- Southern Mississippi safety Tarvarius Moore has visits scheduled with the Browns and seven other teams over the next few weeks, per Jason Munz of the Hattiesburg American and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (on Twitter) Moore clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at Southern Miss’ pro day Thursday.
Browns Trade QB Cody Kessler To Jaguars
The Browns have traded quarterback Cody Kessler to the Jaguars, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The Browns have acquired a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick in the deal. 
The Browns have now traded two quarterbacks this offseason after also sending quarterback DeShone Kizer to the Packers. Tyrod Taylor, who was acquired in a March trade with the Bills, profiles as their starter and the recently signed Drew Stanton will take one of the backup spots. The Browns are expected to take a quarterback with the first overall pick, so there was no room left for Kessler.
Cleveland didn’t get much in this trade, but Kessler didn’t have much value given his iffy performance in eight starts in 2016. The Jaguars, meanwhile, believe that Kessler has some potential, so he could be a candidate to take over for Chad Henne as Blake Bortles‘ backup. If Kessler doesn’t impress this summer, the Jaguars could release him without having to forfeit the draft pick to the Browns.
AFC Notes: Gruden, Kaepernick, Texans, Watson
Raiders coach Jon Gruden is surprised to see Colin Kaepernick without a job in the NFL, but he’s not necessarily of the belief that he is starting caliber.
“I think there’s a lot of intrigue there. His performance on the field wasn’t very good, on tape,” Gruden said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez). “I think, Robert Griffin III, a rookie of the year, surprised he’s out there. Tim Tebow, takes a team to the playoffs, there’s some surprise that he never came back. You know, Johnny Manziel, he’s out there. Back to Kaepernick, you know he got beat out by (Blaine Gabbert), to start the (2016) season. I think that says something. (But) I am surprised he’s not in camp with somebody. He probably will be soon.”
Here’s more from the AFC:
- Texans coach Bill O’Brien says quarterback Deshaun Watson is ahead of schedule in ACL rehab and could be on the field throwing for OTAs (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It’s unlikely that he’ll participate in team periods, but he has a chance at doing some individual workouts.
- The Browns‘ two-year deal with Drew Stanton is worth $6.5MM, a source tells Rapoport (Twitter link). The deal includes $4.15MM fully guaranteed and carries a maximum value of $11.3MM.
- With Tyrod Taylor, Stanton, and a quarterback to be drafted later, the Browns are expected to shop Cody Kessler, Rapoport tweets. Kessler started eight games for Cleveland in 2016, but didn’t necessarily shine. Given Kessler’s performance and the fact that the Browns probably do not have him in their plans, I wouldn’t expect much of a trade market for him.
- The Colts moved down from No. 3 to No. 6, but they do seem inclined to trade down any further unless the expected run on quarterbacks fails to materialize, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star writes. The Colts believe that at least two of this year’s top four quarterbacks (Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield) will go in the top five, leaving them to choose some of this year’s very best overall talents. If that’s the case, they’re content to stay put. “If it’s beneficial for us, and we think we have a deal that works long term, we’ll make the deal,” GM Chris Ballard said recently. “But (No. 6) is a good spot for us.”
Johnny Manziel Remains Open To CFL
Johnny Manziel‘s is doing everything he can to prove he belongs another shot in the NFL. But, failing that, he says he’ll play in the CFL this year (Twitter link via Drew Davison of the Star Telegram). 
Manziel participated in Texas A&M’s pro day on Tuesday and threw passes at the University of San Diego last Thursday. The word from USD was that Manziel looked sharp, despite less-than-perfect weather. The former first round pick will have to do more than audition well on the field, of course, given his off-the-field question marks.
There were 13 teams on hand at USD, but every NFL team is represented at the Aggies’ pro day thanks to the size of their program and their number of high-end prospects, including wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Manziel is willing to sign a practice squad deal with zero guaranteed money if that’s what it takes to get back into the NFL, but failing that, it sounds like he’ll be north of the border after his Spring League stint.
Jets Called Browns About No. 1 Pick
The Jets moved up to the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, but not before aiming for the top selection on the board. Jets GM Mike Maccagnan says that he called the Browns about potentially acquiring the No. 1 pick as a part of due diligence (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini). 
[RELATED: Jets Offered Ndamukong Suh One-Year Deal]
Meanwhile, Maccagnan did not call the Giants about potentially landing the second overall pick. Reading between the lines, it seems that the Jets were unwilling to surrender next year’s first round pick to the Browns and had extra reservations about making such a deal with the rival Giants.
It is widely believed that the Jets are targeting a quarterback with the third pick, but it’s not clear which one(s) they are eyeing. In theory, they could open up their options by trading up again with the Giants at No. 2, but it seems unlikely that they’ll go down that road since they did not engage with them before pulling off the Colts deal.
Browns Re-Sign LB Tank Carder
The Browns have re-signed linebacker Tank Carder, the club announced today.
Carder missed the entire 2017 campaign after suffering a torn ACL, but given that the injury occurred last August, it’s fair to assume that he’ll be ready for the upcoming season. Given that he’s recovering from a serious injury, it’s likely that Carder inked a one-year deal with little or no guaranteed money.
Carder, 29, is a linebacker in name only, as he rarely plays on the defensive side of the ball. However, he’s a key cog on Cleveland’s special teams unit, and he’s seen at least 60% ST playtime in each of his healthy Browns seasons. A former fifth-round pick, Carder has been with Cleveland since 2012, and was voted a team captain in 2016.
Browns Sign QB Drew Stanton
The Browns secured the services of another quarterback on Sunday, as veteran Cardinals signal-caller Drew Stanton signed a two-year deal with the club, Mike McCartney, the player’s agent reports (Twitter link). 
The 10-year veteran did not take a formal meeting with the team. Instead, he ran into team brass by chance while the Browns were scouting on the West Coast. The informal run-in was enough to convince the club to go through with the two-year deal.
A backup to Matthew Stafford in Detroit, Andrew Luck in Indianapolis and Carson Palmer in Arizona, Stanton has been in the locker room with some of the game’s top quarterbacks. He will again serve as a backup, this time to Tyrod Taylor, who was traded to Cleveland from Buffalo earlier this month.
The move also provides quite the logjam at the position. Behind Taylor and Stanton, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan are also on the squad. The list is expected to expand to five after the NFL Draft next month, when the team is thought to be taking a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks.