Why the Browns Should Acquire Vincent Jackson

Jake Delhomme does not have an effective receiving core. Josh Cribbs is new at the position. Mohammed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are coming off of their first NFL season. The rest of the players have not generated a lot of publicity.

Contract Dispute in San Diego

There is some good news. The Browns have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation in San Diego. Due to a contract dispute between the San Diego Chargers and Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson, the team is prepared to move on without him, according to CBS Sports. Jackson was unhappy because the Chargers offered him a $3.2 million tender for one year.

Moving Forward

During an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith said, "We lost a couple of great players, and it hurts." "We are trying to build a championship team, and losing the services of both Vincent and Marcus (McNeill) just made it that more difficult, but not impossible. In due time, coach (Norv) Turner will name two new starters. We will rally as a team, compete and try to win as many games as we can... We will now move forward and focus on the upcoming season."

The Browns have an opportunity to make a trade or wait and see if the Chargers will release him . The Browns have stated their interest in acquiring Jackson as they believe they need a veteran Wide Receiver to add depth to the offense.

My guess is the Chargers are willing to trade the Pro Bowl Wide Receiver in order to gain compensation and avoid a salary cap hit in the long term future. Of couse, the NFL is approaching the regular season without a salary cap due to financial difficulties.

A Few Possibilities

If the Chargers will negotiate with the Browns, which is a great possibility, they will likely demand a lot in return. They may ask for Josh Cribbs and a draft pick or Mohammed Massaqoui and 2 draft picks. If there is going to be any negotiations with the Browns, it will most likely be before the preseason, as early as July, so that the Chargers can get this load off early.

What Jackson Would Give The Browns

Jackson caught 68 passes for 1,167 yards and 9 touchdowns last season. His average gain was 17.2 yards per reception. He can stretch the field and give Jake Delhomme an elite target that is a key piece to the Browns offensive scheme. These are impressive stats that can not be ignored.

Acquiring Jackson Would Be a High Risk, High Reward Transaction

Jackson was arrested for DUI earlier this month. He was also arrested in January for driving with a suspended license. In that incident, he was originally pulled over for playing loud music. In his time with the Chargers, he was arrested three times for DUI. The Browns would have to take these off the field incidents into consideration before attempting a trade. My guess is they will still attempt to pursue Jackson, but they will keep in eye on him. I suspect that if they acquire him, he would be warned right away that the Browns will not tolerate negative off the field behavior. There is a possibility that Jackson will be suspended. However, it will likely be a small one or two game suspension. If he's on the Browns, losing him for one or two games would not be devastating since they are playing the weak links, Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Jackson.