Brown (illness) may be forced to compete with Stephen Carlson for a single depth tight end role, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports.
In addition to signing Austin Hooper to the most expensive contract for a tight end earlier this offseason, Cleveland invested a fourth-round pick in rookie Harrison Bryant during April's draft. As a result, Brown looks firmly situated behind at least three other options in the team's tight end room, leaving him to tentatively compete for a sole depth role left up for grabs. That said, new coach Kevin Stefanski did utilize multiple tight ends at the highest rate in the league last season (57 percent), per Trotter, so Cleveland could be motivated to utilized a larger than standard amount of players at the position.