Report: Travis Benjamin to sign with San Diego
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns could be on the verge of losing wide receiver Travis Benjamin, who will reportedly sign a deal with the San Diego Chargers.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin will reportedly sign a deal with the San Diego Chargers when free agency officially opens today at 4 p.m.
I’m told WR Travis Benjamin plans to sign with the #Chargers when the market officially opens tomorrow. San Diego gets a dangerous weapon.
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) March 9, 2016
Benjamin may be just the first of Cleveland’s major free agents to leave as the team has not yet been able to work out new deals with center Alex Mack, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and free safety Tashaun Gipson.
If Benjamin does move onto San Diego, he will be going from what has been an unsettled quarterback situation (to put it kindly) in Cleveland to one of the most stable ones, as Philip Rivers is entering his 13th season with the Chargers. In comparison, Benjamin has caught passes from nine different quarterbacks during his four years with the Browns.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Browns were reportedly close to a new deal with Benjamin only to see talks fall apart.
Benjamin is coming off a career year that saw him finish with 68 receptions, 966 yards and five touchdown receptions. Benjamin also rediscovered his game as a punt returner, averaging 11.6 yards per return (third best in the league) and adding his third career punt return touchdown.
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If Benjamin had not been saddled with quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis over the season’s final five games, he easily would have become just the 12th receiver in franchise history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
In four years with the Browns since being drafted out of the University of Miami, Benjamin has totaled 109 receptions for 1,683 yards and 10 touchdowns.
If the reports are true and Benjamin is on his way out the door, the Browns could turn to Marvin Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals as an option in free agency, or look to draft a replacement, with Mississippi’s Laquon Treadwell, TCU’s Josh Doctson or Ohio State’s Michael Thomas as possibilities in the second or third round.
Next: Will the Browns cut Johnny Manziel on March 9?
The Cleveland Browns will open free agency today with a little more than $48 million in salary cap space to spend. Follow Dawg Pound Daily for all the latest news on free agency as the Browns work to rebuild their roster.