Call it one of those odd crushes that fans have on him, but every time Lawrence Vickers becomes a free agent, the annual, "should we take a flier on him?" question arises. After being the primary fullback of the Dallas Cowboys in 2012, they released him today, clearing $1.2 million in cap space in the process. Here is what our Cowboys affiliate said about him after he was released:
Vickers never became an essential part of the offense, his blocking was not good enough to help a poor running game, and he didn't add anything in the short passing game. ... Vickers was a good teammate, a good guy in the locker room, but his value to the team seemed to diminish, and his salary was too much for what he brought to this offense.
Vickers only caught 13 passes in 2012, but he had 1 catch for 3 yards on a fourth down in Week 11 against the Browns, a catch that ended up being instrumental in the Cowboys' victory over us.
It's no secret that the Browns' Owen Marecic is far from a lock to make the final roster this year, and Cleveland might opt to just rotate tight ends at the fullback position during the regular season. What about bringing Vickers back, though?
Vickers was drafted by the Browns in 2006. He was a backup as a rookie, but in 2007, he took over the starting fullback role -- that was the same year that Rob Chudzinski directed the Browns' offense as offensive coordinator. It was also the year in which Vickers paved the way for Jamal Lewis' 1,300+ rushing season. Could Chudzinski be interested in re-uniting with a fullback he is familiar with?