I think we all had a feeling this was coming, especially if you've been reading some of the "rumors" over at the OBR the past few days. Earlier today, the OBR broke the news that wide receiver Joe Jurevicius had a surgical procedure again late yesterday to clean out his knee.

Shortly after the OBR's story, the official site of the Cleveland Browns released the following:

BROWNS MEDICAL UPDATE ON JOE JUREVICIUS

In the process of his recovery and preparation for the upcoming season, Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius has had ongoing swelling and discomfort in his knee. Joe had a further clean out to help him in his recovery and control his symptoms. The procedure was performed late yesterday at the Cleveland Clinic. No determination has been made on Joe's status for training camp, which opens July 23rd.

Here's some more bad news: a fairly reputable poster at the OBR is reporting that a "source" of his believes that Jurevicius will retire because the condition of his knee is much worse than originally thought.

If these rumors are indeed true, it would make a lot more sense as to why the Browns were exploring the option of trading for San Diego Chargers wide receiver Eric Parker. Losing Jurevicius may not seem like a big loss on the surface because we have Donte Stallworth (thank you Phil Savage), but it would definitely raise some questions. Tim Carter was not very good as a third receiver for the Browns last year, and without Jurevicius, the candidates for our slot receiver (not including Kellen Winslow) are Travis Wilson, Kevin Kasper, and Joshua Cribbs.

What's common about all three contenders? None of them are proven.

Ring for Parker?

Please note: Nothing has officially stated that Jurevicius will even miss training camp. However, when he's having another surgery this late into the year, I can't imagine him being ready for the start of the regular season.

What in the world is with this sudden wave of interest in the Browns acquiring another wide receiver? After yesterday's rumor regarding veteran Chargers WR Eric Parker, there are reports today that the Browns might be one of the teams interested in WR Matt Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars:

Jacksonville "appears to be ready to cut ties" with Matt Jones, according to beat writer Michael C. Wright.

Jones is low on the depth chart and has missed some practices with his typical nagging injuries. He would be an intriguing waiver claim because Jones' base salaries are only $625,000 and $565,000 in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The Cowboys, Dolphins, and Browns might have some interest.

Link

Between Jones and Parker, I'd probably prefer Parker. While Jones definitely had more projected upside when he was drafted a few years ago, he's never lived up to his potential, and would represent another "project" (i.e. Travis Wilson). Since we already have Wilson, Parker, a more-established veteran, would be my preferred choice.

Still, in the end, I don't want either guy if Joe Jurevicius is perfectly fine. On the same note again though, Jones' low base salary in 2009 is very intriguing if Jurevicius does decide to hang it up.

Another thing to consider: the rumor that the Jaguars are interested in cutting ties with Jones came from beat writer Michael C. Wright. In his piece, he never mentioned specific teams that would be interested. Rotoworld was the site that mentioned the Browns, Dolphins, and Cowboys as teams that might have interest. If those are just wild guesses made by Rotoworld, then perhaps you can consider the Parker rumor more serious than the Jones rumor.

While casually browsing the newswire a few minutes ago, I read a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune that stated that the Chargers are fielding trades for veteran wide receiver Eric Parker. To my surprise, the article specifically mentions the Browns as one of the teams being interested, according to sources:

The Cleveland Browns, whose offensive coordinator is former Chargers tight ends coach Rob Chudzinksi, are among the teams that have shown interest in Parker. The Chargers are believed to be asking for a draft pick somewhere in the final three rounds.

If this is indeed true that the Browns put a feeler out for Parker, especially if it was within the past few weeks (the article doesn't state), then I'd start raising another red flag when it comes to the health of veteran receiver Joe Jurevicius. It wouldn't make much sense to acquire Parker as a fifth-receiver, or even as a fourth-receiver if he could beat out Travis Wilson.

One of Parker's attractive abilities from the past is that he's capable of returning punts. We have Joshua Cribbs though, so again, it wouldn't make sense to acquire him for that reason. One of our picks in the bottom three rounds would be better used towards a cornerback-equivalent to Parker -- the trouble is finding him.