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CLEVELAND - The Browns moved a step closer to swiping a player from one of their AFC North rivals. Seth Joyner Jersey . Cleveland signed Bengals slot receiver Andrew Hawkins to a contract offer sheet on Thursday, a Browns spokesman said. Cincinnati will have five days — until next Tuesday — to match the reported four-year, $13.6 million deal, which includes a $3.8 million signing bonus, or theyll lose the speedy and elusive Hawkins. The Browns are in the market to fill the slot position after releasing troubled wide receiver Davone Bess last week. The Bengals have not said what they intend to do with Hawkins, who caught just 12 passes last season and missed four games with a high ankle sprain. In 2012, Hawkins had 51 catches for 533 yards and four touchdowns. The 28-year-old Hawkins was in Clevelands rookie minicamp in 2007, but wasnt signed. He played in the Canadian Football League before signing with the Bengals. If he joins the Browns, the 5-foot-7 Hawkins would provide a nice complement for Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon and another option for quarterback Brian Hoyer, who at this point is the favourite to begin next season as Clevelands starter. As they await Cincinnatis decision on Hawkins, the Browns are exploring other options and are believed to have interest in New Englands Julian Edelman, a free agent who caught 105 passes last season as Tom Bradys primary target. Edelman took over the role once held by Wes Welker and finished with 1,056 yards receiving and six touchdowns. The former Kent State quarterback also handled punt return duties for the Patriots. He has another local connection because he was a teammate on the Patriots with Hoyer, who backed up Brady for three seasons. On Thursday night, the Browns hosted Houston free agent running back Ben Tate, who could fill a major hole for Cleveland. Tate was supposed to meet with the team on Wednesday but his visit had to be postponed because of a severe winter storm. Tate rushed for 771 yards and four touchdowns last season, his third with the Texans. He has been on Clevelands radar for months, starting soon after the club traded Trent Richardson to Indianapolis for a first-round draft pick. Tate has averaged 4.7 yards per carry and hes rushed for 1,992 yards and 10 TDs. The Browns didnt adequately replace Richardson and their rushing game was almost nonexistent. Earlier in the day, the Browns signed tight end Jim Dray to a three-year, $5.62 million contract, with $2.25 million in the first season. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder spent the past four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, setting career highs with 26 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns last season. Primarily a blocker, Dray gives the Browns depth at tight end behind Pro Bowl Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge. Dray was impressed that the Browns showed early interest in him. "Just hearing from my agent that the Browns were pretty aggressive from the start of free agency," said Dray, drafted out of Stanford in the seventh round in 2010. "I thought that theyd be a great fit for me, so the feeling was mutual and Im really excited to be here. Ive been watching (offensive co-ordinator) coach (Kyle) Shanahans offence for Washington the past couple years, and the way they used their tight ends seemed like a good fit." The Browns also are waiting for what happens with Pro Bowl centre Alex Mack. They placed their transition tag — worth $10.039 million for one year — on him last week and will have five days to match any offer if he signs with another team. Mack has until July 22 to sign his transition tag and its possible his situation could drag on. Jordan Matthews Eagles Jersey . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. Connor Barwin Jersey . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb. www.authenticeaglesnflpro.com/c-51-eagles-tommy-mcdonald-jersey.aspx .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames.WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The New South Wales Waratahs will stand apart from the potential chaos of the last round of the Super Rugby regular season this weekend. By beating the Highlanders 44-16 last Sunday, the Waratahs clinched first place on the overall table and afforded themselves the only sense of certainty belonging to any of the teams still involved in the playoffs race. They know that whatever happens this weekend, they will have a weeks rest before hosting a home semifinal. For every other team from the second-placed Crusaders to the ninth-placed Blues, who need events of almost miraculous proportions to reach the playoffs, almost nothing is assured. The last and most intriguing episode of the regular season has still to play out. For the Waratahs, with their fate already decided, Saturdays match against the 12th-placed Reds should be little more than an undemanding end to the regular season and a light prelude to their first semifinal in four years. But matches between New South Wales and Queensland, beginning in 1882, are invested with such a potent interstate rivalry, even antipathy, that the Waratahs cannot expect an easy time. Queensland, champions in 2011, have little to salvage from a season in which their performance has fallen well short of expectations, but a win over New South Wales would at least be a small consolation. Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has refused to name an under-strength lineup for the match to spare his frontline players for the semifinal. "You could (injure a player) at any time, in training or regular games," Cheika said. "This is a contact sport, you dont go into it worrying about things like that." In other matches in the final round, the Christchurch-based Crusaders will meet the Dunedin-based Highlanders in a contest for first place in the New Zealand conference. The Crusaders are currently in second place with 46 points and the Highlanders in fourth place with 42, needing a bonus point win to finish ahead of the Crusaders. A single bonus point would be enough to ensure the Crusaders top the New Zealand conference but they neeed a win, ideally a good one, to hold out the challenge of South Africas Sharks for second place and the other home semifinal. Fletcher Cox Womens Jersey. The Sharks wrapped up the South African conference several weeks ago and are currently in third place overall, equal on points with the Crusaders, sharing the Crusaders tally of 10 wins and only eight points behind on points differential. The Durban-based Sharks face the Stormers in the final round -- a team to which they lost only two weeks ago -- and also need to win to enforce their challenge for second place. If both teams win and finish the regular season with 11 wins, points differential may decide which takes the preferred route through the playoffs. The Highlanders need to recover quickly from last weekends six-try mauling at the hands of the Waratahs to take their place in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. That position isnt yet safe and they could be displaced, depending on the outcome of matches between the ACT Brumbies and the Western Force, the Blues and defending the champion Chiefs. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has been ruled out of Saturdays match with a rib injury: a minor setback for the Crusaders who can finish no further back than fourth but who are determined to achieve a conference victory and second place. The Chiefs must beat the Blues in Auckland to have any chance of extending their two-year reign as Super Rugby champions. They enter the final round in eighth place and must also depend on the outcome of other matches to gain a top-six finish. The Blues must beat the Chiefs by a clear 38 points and with five tries to preserve their frail hope of a playoffs spot. The Brumbies, in sixth place, and Force, in seventh -- both with 40 points -- also meet in a must-win clash between playoffs hopefuls. The winner of Fridays match at Canberra will advance to the playoffs while the losers season is over. The most anxious role in the final round belongs to the Hurricanes who are currently fifth with 41 points but who have the bye and must allow the outcome of other matches determine whether their season continues. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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