From the sounds of it, the Cleveland Browns would already like a shot at Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates in free agency.
Might Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst be on the list too?
It’s no secret the Browns would like to add names at the position this offseason. With the scouting combine underway, SB Nation’s Jared Mueller has noted in a “what I’m hearing” column that the Browns might indeed target Hurst.
Hurst just had a “breakout” year of sorts with the Bengals, producing well, serving as an upgrade over C.J. Uzomah and fitting well with the culture. That wasn’t hard to see coming, but a nice thing for the former first-rounder after bad usage with two different teams prior.
Cincinnati would like to get Hurst back for obvious reasons, but the breakout could inflate his price on the market. A very, very deep offseason for the tight end position could mean the Bengals go a different route.
Really, the Browns having an interest in multiple Bengals free agents isn’t a stunner. The Bengals are perennial contenders right now and will leak talent as they have to pay the big players and the Browns have more familiarity with those players than most after playing them twice per year.
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