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Should Cleveland Browns go after Cecil Shorts?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Cleveland Browns desperately need to add help at the wide receiver position this offseason with Josh Gordon suspended for yet another season, and it would behoove them to sign the best receiver available. They clearly have the cap space to go after a No. 1 wideout, and it’s a necessity for them to add a top pass-catcher with Gordon suspended and tight end Jordan Cameron most likely gone. Whether Johnny Manziel, Brian Hoyer, or someone else starts, it’s important for the Browns to add a high-end wideout, particularly since they can’t count on anything from Gordon going forward.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts is one of the more intriguing names on the free agent market, and ESPN NFL Nation’s Michael DiRocco, who covers the Jags, recently wrote that his “best guess” for Shorts in free agency is to sign with the hometown Browns. Based on the amount of young, promising talent the Jaguars added at the position last offseason in the draft and undrafted free agency (Allen Hurns), Shorts is the odd-man out, and his injury history doesn’t help him either.

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If the Browns are interested in adding Shorts, then they can’t afford to make him their only big addition at WR or TE in the offseason. Since it’s unlikely for them to add a top pass-catching TE in free agency or the draft, they’ll need to strongly consider pursuing two free agent receivers; a top guy and a mid-level wideout with a proven track record.

Should the Browns decide that they are interested in adding that sort of a mid-level receiver, then Shorts would make sense for Ray Farmer and the organization. I wrote about a month ago that Shorts is one of the more intriguing buy-low impending free agents. He had his worst season in a contract year after suffering through injuries and being frustratingly inconsistent on the field, but this is a guy who was once one of the NFL’s most promising and underrated wideouts after notching 979 yards and seven touchdowns in his breakout 2012 campaign.

Shorts is a playmaker who can make things happen after the catch, and his 17.8 yards per reception in 2012 show that. His numbers fell off, particularly his YPR, in 2013 and 2014, with 2014 being a year to forget for the 27-year-old wideout who would most likely want to take a prove-it deal in order to boost his stock for 2016 free agency and cash in on what would be his biggest payday in the prime of his career.

There are a lot of moving parts here, but there’s no doubt that the Cleveland Browns need pass-catching help and, again, should think hard about signing two players in free agency. As it stands right now, shrewd 2014 RFA poach Andrew Hawkins is their only reliable option, as Taylor Gabriel and Travis Benjamin are strictly upside guys, with Gabriel being more of an asset in 2015. Miles Austin will likely be retained, but the Browns need someone better than an aging possession receiver, even if he was surprisingly healthy and consistent last season.

Shorts fits a contender best, since he would most likely want to sign with a team that has a good quarterback situation. He’s been forced to play with poor quarterbacks for his entire career, and he would likely get to show off his talents better on a team where he’s only the third or fourth option but also has a top quarterback leading a contending team.

That’s the ideal scenario for most receivers looking for a prove-it deal, as it’s the situation Hakeem Nicks opted for last offseason when he signed with the Indianapolis Colts (unfortunately, he wasn’t successful and hits the free agent market this offseason with even more questions about his consistency than Shorts).

Due to his proneness to nagging, soft-tissue injuries, Cecil Shorts wouldn’t be the most reliable option for the Browns, but he would make sense as a strong piece of their puzzle and could also enjoy a bounce-back type of season in Cleveland, provided the Browns QB play is more like it was in the first half of the 2014 season than in the second.

Dec 7, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts (84) at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Richard Dole-USA TODAY Sports

Although Shorts will come cheap since he is an injury-prone receiver coming off of a career-worst season and looking for a prove-it deal, he won’t be dirt cheap.

Moreover, while the Browns aren’t a bad team after nearly making the playoffs last year, they would likely be forced to pay more than other teams interested in Shorts due to their QB situation. That said, Shorts is at least worth looking into because of his upside, since he’s as good of a buy-low candidate for a team like the Browns as he is for a WR-hungry contender.

Unlike a certain receiver the Browns have had to deal with, Shorts is one of the last people who causes problems, and he’s dealt with some tough injuries and played on some horrendous teams in his four years since working his way from an unused rookie out of Mount Union into a team’s top wideout. Although he is injury prone, I’ll never forget how he played through a painful shoulder injury in 2013 and still had a big day against the San Diego Chargers.

Intangibles count for something, but, of course, the Browns will be weighing the upside of the move vs. the risk of him producing mediocre-to-subpar numbers for a second straight season.

Assuming he’s inexpensive, there’s little risk in signing him, so he’s at least worth pursuing. How strongly, however, will depend on a variety of factors, and it will be interesting to see how the Browns decide to attack their need at WR, particularly as it relates to using the draft vs. free agency.

At least on paper, Shorts makes plenty of sense for the Cleveland Browns as a No. 2 receiver, but they can’t expect to fill their need at pass-catcher solely by signing him. I doubt that would be the expectation if they decide to pursue him, and, again, it will be interesting to see how much the Browns focus on upgrading the position through free agency vs. the draft, especially after not drafting a WR last year.

Next: Where do the Browns rank among the best franchises in history?

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