Rumor: Browns interested in wide receiver Allen Hurns

The Cleveland Browns may not be done in free agency as the team is reportedly taking a look at wide receiver Allen Hurns.

The Cleveland Browns were active in the opening days of free agency, but still have almost $75 million in available cap space.

The team also could use some help at wide receiver, even after adding Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry in a deal with the Miami Dolphins.

But those two truths together and it should not come as a surprise when the Browns are linked to a free agent wide receiver, which is what happened on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns are one of several teams interested in Allen Hurns, who was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday:

The Browns, naturally, have not commented on the report. And it would not be shocking if the source of the rumor is Hurns’ agent attempting to convince teams that general manager John Dorsey is about to hand a blank check to Hurns so that they better move quickly.

Even knowing that, Hurns is a player that the Browns should be interested in.

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In four years with the Jaguars, Hurns appeared in 52 games, making 42 starts. His best season came in 2015, when he had 64 receptions for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns. All told, he leaves the Jaguars with 189 receptions for 2,669 yards, 21 touchdowns and a tidy average of 14.1 yards per reception.

And he did that while catching passes from Blake Bortles!

The downside is that Hurns missed a combined 11 games over the past two seasons while dealing with injuries. Those injury fears may not be a big concern, however, as Hurns had a high ankle sprain last season, which, while painful, is not something that would necessarily carry over into this season.

So why would the Browns be interested?

The biggest reason is that Hurns played all three positions for the Jaguars (although his best work was as a slot receiver), which would give the Browns some protection behind wide receivers Josh Gordon (who hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year in 2012) and Corey Coleman (who has missed games in each of his first two seasons with a broken hand).

Hurns would also automatically become Cleveland’s fourth-best wide receiver the moment he arrived in town, and as Dorsey said shortly after being hired, the Browns need more “real players, and Hurns fits that description.

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The Browns might still be a year away from signing a player like Hurns, however, as after going through a rebuilding effort with the Jaguars he may not want to jump back into that same type of situation in Cleveland.