Stephen Morris

Browns Work Out Roberto Aguayo

By Zachary Links | at December 19, 2017 1:25 pm

The Browns are kicking the tires on some notable names as the season winds down. Kicker Roberto Aguayo and tight end Gavin Escobar were among the players to audition for Cleveland on Monday, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 

Last year, the Bucs traded up to select Aguayo in the second-round. It was a perplexing move at the time and it backfired even quicker than anyone could have imagined. Prior to this season, the Buccaneers waived the kicker.

“You never feel good when you shatter someone’s dream,” GM Jason Licht said at the time. “That is always tough, especially someone you had such high hopes for. You don’t have good feelings about that. It is a little bit of a sense of, I don’t want to say relief, but we’ve ripped off the band-aid, and we move on. We’re moving forward.”

Luckily for the Bucs, the Bears claimed Aguayo and took on the remainder of his contract. He never saw live action in Chicago, however, and the Bears quickly waived him. This time around, there were no takers for his $400K+ salary guarantee. He went on to have a stint on the Panthers’ practice squad, but that too was short lived.

Escobar, also a former second-round draft pick, never blossomed into the downfield threat the Cowboys hoped he’d be. The tight end worked out for roughly one-third of the league’s teams this year and had a cup of coffee with Baltimore before being put back on to the free agent pile. He appeared in two games for the Ravens, but did not record a reception.

In Escobar’s four seasons with Dallas, he started just seven games. His had at least 100 receiving yards in his first two seasons, but combined for just 12 receptions, 94 yards, and two touchdowns in 2015 and 2016.

Quarterback Stephen Morris, punter Jeff Locke, and four other players also worked out for the Browns.