Browns pursuing Allen Robinson

allen-robinson

When the Browns acquired Jarvis Landry on Friday afternoon, you would’ve thought that was the big wide receiver acquisition the team would make this offseason.

A report from a national writer says that the Browns may not be done landing big ticket play makers.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote a piece on Sunday afternoon about the San Francisco 49ers going after free agents after signing former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman on Saturday.

He mentioned Patriots running back Dion Lewis and Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson as their big name targets but La Canfora reports the 49ers will have competition for Robinson.

There will be ample competition for Robinson – the Bears and Browns are among those hot after him, I’m told (while teams like the Ravens and Panthers have some interest but have cap constraints they are fighting against). And the Jaguars would love to keep him.

Robinson is the best wide receiver on the open market and will get paid like a top ten receiver which he is when he’s healthy. However, he’s coming off a torn ACL injury that shut his 2017 season down just one game in.

Since being drafted by the Jaguars in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, he had proven to be a solid vertical threat in Jacksonville’s offense. In 2015, he had 80 catches for 1,400 yards and an NFL leading 14 touchdowns which helped get him selected to the Pro Bowl.

His 2016 season was a down year statistically with 73 catches for 883 yards and six touchdowns but many would say the performance by quarterback Blake Bortles could’ve been an issue in Robinson’s numbers.

It’ll be interesting to see how much money per year teams will offer Robinson coming off the injury. La Canfora says it’s most likely Robinson will sign a short term deal (1-2 years) but he should be able to get $14 million a year on that deal. That would allow Robinson to reach free agency again at 25 or 26 years old.

I’m not sure if Cleveland is a serious contender after Robinson after acquiring Landry but with the team still having around $80 million in cap space, they have the resources to pay Robinson the money he’s asking for.

Landry is already signed with the Browns through this season on the $15.9 million franchise tag but it’s been reported that the sides are negotiating a long term deal. It’s unknown if Cleveland would want to pay two receivers a combined $30 million with a potential extension down the road for Josh Gordon if he stays on the right path.

If Robinson were to join the Browns, the offensive weapons surrounding newly acquired quarterback Tyrod Taylor would have the potential to be one of the most dangerous offensive units in not only Browns franchise history but in the entire NFL.

  • RB Duke Johnson
  • WR Josh Gordon
  • WR Jarvis Landry
  • WR Corey Coleman
  • TE David Njoku

Not to mention the fact that the Browns could still land Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the first or fourth overall pick to make the offense potentially even more dangerous.

San Francisco and Chicago also both have a ton of cap space to make an offer to Robinson and both have their long term quarterbacks established in Jimmy Garoppolo and Mitchell Trubisky respectively. That might make Robinson more enticed to go to either spot instead of Cleveland.

The legal tampering period begins Monday but I’m sure Cleveland has already been in touch with Robinson’s agent. It’ll be interesting leading up to Wednesday when players can officially sign if Cleveland is truly in the hunt for the talented receiver.

 

 

 

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