With this weekend’s deadline looming, head coach Mike Pettine says the Browns have yet to make a decision on whether or not to exercise the fifth-year option for defensive tackle Phil Taylor (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal). For his part, Taylor expressed a desire to have that option picked up, but says he won’t let it affect his play if the team decides to turn it down (all Twitter links).
Let’s round up a couple more Browns items and check in on a few other AFC clubs…
- Cornerback Joe Haden confirmed that extension talks with the Browns are ongoing, as Ulrich tweets. “I’d like to get it done as soon as possible, but we’re still working on it,” Haden said.
- More from Ulrich (Twitter link): Pettine confirmed today that the Browns‘ phone has been ringing and that trade talks are happening for virtually all the teams in the top 10 of the draft.
- Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweets that he’s hearing “a lot of chatter” about the Bills wanting to move up from the No. 9 pick, and the Dolphins wanting to trade down from No. 19, which is consistent with other whispers we’ve heard in the last week or so.
- Free agent offensive lineman Steve Vallos had a tryout with the Colts yesterday, according to Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange (via Twitter). Vallos, who spent the 2013 season with the Broncos, left the audition without a contract.
- The Colts, who don’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft, are keeping their options open when it comes to moving up, GM Ryan Grigson said today (link via Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star). However, as Grigson acknowledges, with just five picks in hand, the Colts don’t have a ton of ammunition for trades.
- Morgan State cornerback Joe Rankin is drawing interest from the Chargers, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).