Reports: Browns still interested in Bryant; make concession to Gordon
With Josh Gordon yet to report to training camp and Corey Coleman traded, the Cleveland Browns still have interest in free agent wideout Dez Bryant, according to an NFL Network report Monday.
Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the sides have had discussions and the Browns remain interested, but things are in a "holding pattern" on Bryant's end as to whether or not he will visit the team or consider signing.
Browns general manager John Dorsey told reporters two weeks ago the team had discussed signing Bryant, adding, "I know what kind of person he is and what makes him. He's a very talented player."
Meanwhile, the Browns will make a gesture of good faith toward wide receiver Josh Gordon by moving him from the did not report list to the non-football injury list, according to Rapoport.
The move will keep Gordon from losing an accrued season toward free agency, which would happen if he were to remain on the did not report list through Tuesday, 30 days before the start of the regular season.
Gordon, who is absent from camp while continuing drug treatment rehabilitation in Gainesville, Fla., is not expected to report to practice by Tuesday, but Cleveland.com reported Sunday he is "getting closer" to returning.
The 27-year-old has only two accrued NFL seasons because of suspensions that have cost him 56 out of 96 possible games in his career. The Browns' gesture would allow Gordon to become a restricted free agent after this season, rather than an exclusive-rights free agent for the second consecutive year.
Gordon will make $790,000 this year, the minimum salary for a player with two accrued seasons, after signing his exclusive-rights contract with the team this offseason.
Coleman, a first-round pick in 2016, was traded to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, reportedly for a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft.
--Field Level Media
