Daily Dawg Tags: Chris Ivory pops in for a visit with the Browns
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns need help at running back, but Chris Ivory, who visited the team on Tuesday, is not the solution.
The Cleveland Browns, who will soon be in need of a running back once incumbent Isaiah Crowell leaves in free agency next month, hosted veteran running back Chris Ivory for a visit on Tuesday.
It was the latest stop for Ivory, who visited the Buffalo Bills on Monday, after being released last week by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Cleveland visit was first reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Former #Jaguars RB Chris Ivory is visiting the #Browns today, source said. He was with the #Bills yesterday and has a visit tomorrow, too. Cleveland could lose RB Isaiah Crowell to free agency.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2018
Ivory is the typical type of player that casual Browns fans have heard of, but is in decline as a viable running back. He spent two seasons with the Jaguars and saw his production drop off as he rushed for just 821 yards, four touchdowns and an average of 3.6 yards per carry.
Jacksonville had signed Ivory as a free agent in 2016, but quickly fell out of favor, which led the Jaguars to draft running back Leonard Fournette with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Ivory, who was originally signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010, spent three years with the Saints before being traded to the New York Jets, where he rushed for 2,724 yards and 16 touchdowns over three seasons.
In his eight years in the league, Ivory has only rushed for more than 1,000 yards once and his average season is just 606 rushing yards and 3.5 touchdowns, which is pretty pedestrian.
Fans have complained about Crowell, but he rushed for 1,805 yards and nine touchdowns the past two seasons, so at least he was productive. (Wait, why are the Browns not looking to re-sign him again?) Even if Crowell is as good as gone, as they say, it seems unwise for the Browns to add a soon-to-be 30-year-old running back on the downside of his career to the roster.
Cleveland also has enough draft selections – 12 in total – in the 2018 NFL Draft and the running back pool should be deep enough that they can find a good running back to compliment Duke Johnson come draft weekend.
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