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General manager John Dorsey is clearly not a patient man.
A day after the news broke that the Cleveland Browns were looking to trade veteran tight end Darren Fells, the team will reportedly simply release him as they did not find a trade partner quickly enough, according to Pro Football Talk.
Browns release TE Darren Fells after failed effort to trade him per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 10, 2019
The Browns signed Fells to a three-year contract as an unrestricted free agent a year ago, ostensibly to be a blocking tight end. But Fells gave the Browns more than that, catching eight of the nine passes thrown his way, with three of them going for touchdowns.
One of those touchdowns was a 49-yarder from quarterback Baker Mayfield in Week 4 against the Oakland Raiders - the first touchdown pass of Mayfield’s NFL career.
Fells was due to make $2.65 million in 2019, according to Pro Football Talk, and the Browns will carry $1.4 million in dead money after the release becomes official.
Dorsey may have been in the market for another tight end to pair with David Njoku and Seth DeValve (if he is still on the team in a few weeks) even before releasing Fells, but now it seems extremely likely that the Browns will target the position, either in free agency or the upcoming NFL Draft.