Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Browns tried to trade TE Jordan Cameron to the Seahawks in return for WR Percy Harvin last year.
At the time, Cameron was reportedly looking to secure a long-term contract worth around $8 million annually. However, the Browns weren’t willing to pay him that kind of money, which is why they explored some alternative options for Cameron.
According to Cabot, trade talks between Seattle and Cleveland broke off and didn’t resume until the season had concluded.
This, essentially, confirms a report from Ian Rapoport back in October of year, who mentioned that the Seahawks were exploring their options at tight end and spoke to the Browns about Cameron and the Broncos regarding TE Julius Thomas.
Interestingly enough, Cabot mentions that Cameron was not even the Browns’ top priority tight end in free agency. Instead, Cleveland reportedly preferred Dolphins TE Charles Clay, but after it became clear that the Bills were likely to price them out for Clay, the Browns turned their attention back to retaining Cameron.
In the end, Cameron secured a two-year contract worth a reported $15 million from the Miami Dolphins. Although, sources tell Cabot that his contract with the Dolphins might not be as good as it sounds.
As things stand right now, the Browns are without a true No. 1 tight end, and there really isn’t much in terms of available talent at the position in free agency. Cleveland has been linked to Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham, so he could be someone to keep an eye on in the coming days.
For what it’s worth, OverTheCap.com projects the Browns to receive a fourth-round compensatory pick for Cameron, assuming they don’t sign a player to a similar contract.
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