According to Jason La Canfora, one of the early suitors for the services of soon-to-be-former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be the Cleveland Browns.
This is following reports that Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Andre Roberts, their top target, has come to a deal in principal with the Washington Redskins.
With the Cardinals having drafted wide receiver Michael Floyd to go along with Larry Fitzgerald, Roberts had his role significantly reduced last season, starting only two games, yet he still caught 43 passes for 471 yards and two touchdowns.
Between 2011 and 2012, Roberts started 31 games for a then-quarterback-starved Cardinals team, catching 115 passes for around 1350 yards and seven touchdowns, five of them coming in 2012.
Sanders, of course, inherited a starting wide receiver position with the Steelers after Mike Wallace cashed in big in free agency with a $60 million contract with the Miami Dolphins last offseason, and correspondingly put up some of his best numbers.
His 67 receptions, 740 receiving yards, and six touchdown receptions are all the best in those respective categories in his career, a year after the New England Patriots were willing to give up a third-round draft pick to sign him to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, to speak of the interest he should have this offseason.
Behind Josh Gordon, a first-team All-Pro selection this past season, and Greg Little, the Browns are relatively thin at the wide receiver position. Travis Benjamin had five receptions last season for 105 yards, while Josh Cooper recorded nine receptions for 60 yards.
Given that the Browns are quite likely to be targeting yet another quarterback in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it would behoove them to help surround that quarterback with some more weapons.
Adding Sanders, likely in the slot, where many believe he is better suited after spending a year playing on the outside, would be a nice upgrade for an incoming Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, or Blake Bortles.
