AFC North Notes: Browns, Gordon, Steelers

In a departure from comments made last offseason, Browns coach Hue Jackson says that he wants wide receiver Josh Gordon to be in Cleveland for a “long time.”

Well, I think the first thing, if we tender him, which we will, that’s where he’ll be,” Jackson said (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). “But we want Josh Gordon to be a Cleveland Brown for a long time. We’ll see where that all goes, but he has to do his part in that. And we hope he will, and I’m sure he will.”

Gordon is an exclusive rights free agent, meaning that he’ll be back with the Browns on an inexpensive one-year deal. It’s not clear whether the Browns have discussed a multi-year extension with Gordon, but Jackson would be a proponent of a new contract.

Here’s more from the AFC North:

  • The Steelers recently reached out to safety J.J. Wilcox to express interest in a return for 2018, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Steelers can save $3.125MM by cutting Wilcox with just $675K in dead money, but the Steelers have some interest in retaining him, perhaps under a reduced figure. The Steelers will also have to make a decision regarding fellow safety Mike Mitchell, who is slated to carry a $5MM cap hit.
  • With the Rams reportedly set to move on from wide receiver Tavon AustinJeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun wonders aloud if the Ravens could bring the former Dunbar star home. The Ravens need to overhaul their receiver corps this season with a particular emphasis on speed. The team has been widely connected to Jarvis Landry, but Austin would represent a much cheaper option in every sense of the word. The Dolphins hit Landry with the $16MM+ franchise tag in February with the hope of trading him, likely for draft compensation. Austin, meanwhile, seems likely to get released outright, even though the Rams would ideally like to recoup something for him. Because of the offset language in Austin’s contract, that means he could probably be had for the league minimum or close to it.
  • A deeper look at the contract of Bengals tackle Bobby Hart reveals that he is not a lock to make the team’s final roster.
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