The Cleveland Browns have signed Miles Austin at wide receiver and the team also has trade options available with Josh Gordon facing suspension, as Andre Johnson, Mike Wallace, Robert Meachem, Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson all could be available and while those deals could be tough, it comes after the team offered a fourth round pick to the Redskins in a trade for Kirk Cousins and after that was denied, they picked Johnny Manziel in the draft.
The Browns have a number of issues on both sides of the ball, but the most glaring need now is at wide receiver after what happened with Gordon and while pulling off a trade could be hard, it may be what the team needs to do to get by without Gordon for a year. Last season Gordon had 1,646 receiving yards, which was best in the league, along with 87 catches and nine touchdowns and he also had back to back 200 yard games while playing with Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer before he was injured. The Browns opted not to take Sammy Watkins with their number four pick and they also avoided taking a wideout in the draft. Wallace has been shopped by the Dolphins this offseason, while Meachem could be on the market after the Saints took Brandin Cooks in the NFL draft.
According to CBS Sports, the team signed Earl Bennett to make up for the loss of Gordon and while that won't make up for his production, it gives the team some depth along with Greg Little. Last season Bennett had 32 receptions for 243 yards and four touchdowns with the Bears and he has caught 185 passes in his six year career, which was all spent with Da Bears. The team also added four undrafted free agents at receiver and while that should help too, the team may need more.
Johnson obviously would be the most amazing move for the team to make, but that's why it likely is impossible and while the Texans know he is a bit frustrated, it doesn't mean they will trade him anyway. Right now Johnson would be comparable to what the Browns will lose with Gordon, as he had 109 receptions for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns last season despite playing with a terrible Matt Schaub and an undrafted rookie in Case Keenum.
According to ESPN.com, the Browns offered the Washington Redskins a fourth round draft pick in exchange for quarterback Kirk Cousins, but that deal was denied. The Browns likely felt that adding Cousins could be a solid option if they did not get Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles, as he has been in the system of Kyle Shanahan for years now and Shanahan comes to the Browns and is offensive coordinator after Norv Turner was fired with Rob Chudzinski.
The team now has Manziel and adding Cousins would be a waste, but it does show what the Browns were thinking at quarterback if their plan A did not work out. The Redskins likely should have made the deal, as they did not have some picks due to the RG3 trade and also now have Colt McCoy on the roster and he could take over as backup to Robert Griffin.
