CLEVELAND — Between trading for Elijah Mitchell and drafting Cedric Tillman, the Cleveland Browns have made it a priority to upgrade their wide receiver position this offseason.
And they may not be done just yet.
In a cost-cutting move, the Arizona Cardinals released star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins late last week. And when it comes to potential fits for the five-time Pro Bowl selection, a reunion with his former Houston Texans teammate and current Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson, could be in the cards.
"I mention the Browns, only because I was told that Hopkins could be open to a reunion with Deshaun Watson from their Houston days," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said during an appearance on SportsCenter on Monday. "Maybe it makes sense for Cleveland to make that call, as many others will."
In addition to the Browns, Fowler mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills as potential destinations for Hopkins, in what he described as the "arms race" of the AFC. The 30-year-old Clemson product has also been linked to a number of other teams since being released, including the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers.
As for Cleveland, the addition of Hopkins to a wide receiving corps that currently includes Amari Cooper and Moore could give the Browns one of the top pass-catching units in the AFC. Over the course of his 10-year career, Hopkins has totaled at least 1,000 receiving yards in six seasons, including in each of the three seasons he spent with Watson as his quarterback on the Texans.
"Of course, we would love to have him," Watson told reporters of Hopkins at the Browns' annual golf outing on Tuesday. "He knows that. We have a lot of connections, but that's kind of out of my range of things of coordinating things."
In addition to hoping the draw of reuniting with Watson is enough to persuade him from signing with contenders such as Kansas City and Buffalo, signing Hopkins will also be a matter of money for the Browns. According to OverTheCap.com, Cleveland currently has $6.9 million in cap space available to make such a deal.