Optimism for Jordan Cameron Playing Sunday

The Cleveland Browns won last week against the New Orleans Saints despite missing star tight end Jordan Cameron. They saw on the opposite side the power a great tight end can have as Jimmy Graham had a great game in a losing effort. With the Baltimore Ravens come to town and the Browns have some optimism that Cameron will be on the field:

Cautiously optimistic at that. Head coach Mike Pettine has shown some coyness with his use of the media in the past. He gave the impression that Johnny Manziel would play Week 1, he didn’t, and wouldn’t play Week 2, he did. So Pettine’s words have to be taken with some grain of salt. Maybe he knows Cameron will be out and wants the Ravens to prepare for him anyways. Maybe he knows Cameron, if he can play, will be limited but wants to use him to take some coverage away elsewhere.

We do know that Cameron could make a huge impact for the Browns offense. He is by far the most talented tight end on the roster. The way Brian Hoyer fed the other tight ends last week means he is looking for those guys often. Getting the ball to Cameron instead of either of the backups could lead to a few more yards per play or a huge play or two that were missing from the last couple games.

The Ravens’ once stellar defense has lost a lot of luster in the past 2 years. The more weapons they have to worry about the better. Hoyer has done a great job of getting the ball out quickly to the open receiver in the first two weeks. Even when he is pressured Hoyer has seemed comfortable moving out of the pocket and calmly buying time for receivers to get open.

With the run game as good as it has been, Hoyer playing well and the mighty mouse receiving corp keeping up their end of the bargain, Cameron’s return would be huge. The concern will be whether he is returning early and could cause more damage to his shoulder by playing. The Browns are better off playing it safe with their franchise tight end.

How big of impact do you think Cameron would have Sunday?