Why Has Jordan Cameron Seemingly Disappeared from Browns Offense?

Cleveland Browns tight end Jordan Cameron is expected to miss at least two games after suffering his third concussion in two years in Sunday's win over the Oakland Raiders. The previous concussions have cost him three games, and he has already missed one game this season with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder.

Because of the concussion, the Browns won't have Cameron's services this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and potentially next Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. But his absence will feel even more familiar because Cameron has been such a non-factor in the Browns offense this season.

Cameron was expected to be the centerpiece of a passing offense that lacked top playmaker Josh Gordon and didn't boast much receiving depth. Instead, that honor has been passed on to receivers Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel and Miles Austin, while Cameron ranks fourth in receiving yardage for the team.

In 2013, Cameron was the Browns' second-leading receiver and second-leading scorer, with 80 receptions on 117 targets for 917 yards and seven touchdowns. He had four games with 90 or more yards and caught an average of 68.4 passes thrown his way, by three different quarterbacks.

This year, Cameron's quarterback situation has been stable, with Brian Hoyer starting every game. But Cameron's production has reflected neither this stability nor the hopes hung on him that he'd have a strong season. 

Perhaps this can be explained away by the shoulder sprain, which Cameron conceded in September will linger through the season. In speaking with Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cameron said, "You do a lot of strengthening work, but it's one of those injuries that's going to be there for a while. It's just a nagging thing... You can take some hits, but it's just an AC sprain. It's a nagging injury and that's pretty much it."

Year	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	Yds.	YPR	TD	Drops
2013	117	80	68.4%	917	11.5	7	5
2014	31	13	41.9%	250	19.2	1	1

So far this season, Cameron has caught just 13 of his 31 targets for 250 yards and one touchdown. Though he's averaging 19.2 yards per reception, up from 11.5 a season ago, he's catching only 41.9 percent of the passes thrown to him. And, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), dropped passes aren't the issue—he has only one recorded drop this year.

The shoulder could be a culprit based on where he's been targeted on the field the most this year—over the middle, where tight ends in particular are asked to contest for passes and take on the brunt of the most physical coverages.

Cameron is aware of this, as well, saying to Reed, "You can't really protect [the shoulder]. I can't tell a guy not to hit me over here. It's just one of those things... You can't be thinking about it because it'll affect the way you play."

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Fear of taking hits to the already injured shoulder could have resulted in many of his missed catches. Combine that fear with a quarterback in Hoyer who can throw deep better than any quarterback in the league, yet is overall the second-worst passer in the league when it comes to accuracy, and a perfect storm is formed. It's no wonder Cameron is having a down season.

But now, with his latest concussion, Cameron's health is going to be a question for the rest of the year. The shoulder was an issue—compound that with his third concussion suffered in two years, and his workload might be limited for the remainder of his season once he returns.

The Browns have already shown this season that they have enough weapons in the passing game to more than make do, regardless of Cameron's status. They also have two other tight ends, Jim Dray and Gary Barnidge, who can take Cameron's snaps, though maybe not his passing targets.

Player	Snaps	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	Yds.	YPR	TD	Drops
Dray	228	11	9	81.8%	118	13.1	1	0
Barnidge	152	8	5	62.5%	54	10.8	0	0

Dray has played 228 snaps thus far, but he has only 11 passing targets, with nine receptions for 118 yards and one score. Barnidge has played 152 snaps and has been thrown to eight times, with five catches for 54 yards.

The Browns also signed some insurance this week in the form of Baltimore Ravens practice-squad tight end Ryan Taylor. Taylor, originally a seventh-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, is in his fourth season and has played in 50 games with two career starts. He has eight catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Whether he'll dress on game days is unknown, but the addition of Taylor to the 53-man roster clearly indicates that the Browns are prepared for any possibility as far as Cameron's health is concerned.

Cameron's slow start to the 2014 season seems to be caused by his shoulder injury, though Hoyer's accuracy issues could not have helped. And now that he could miss two games, if not more, with his latest concussion, it doesn't look like Cameron will be the heart of Cleveland's passing offense as had been anticipated. 

The only saving grace is that the Browns haven't needed Cameron to be the cornerstone of the offense, with Hawkins, Austin and Gabriel playing well, Travis Benjamin scoring three receiving touchdowns and the run game performing well behind the trio of Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West. Gordon will return to the lineup in November, as well.

Yes, a healthy Cameron would be welcomed, and if he'd entered the season at 100 percent, it's likely his catches, yards and touchdowns would be increased as a result. But the saving grace here is that the Browns don't need Cameron at full health or even on the field for the offense to be effective.

The Browns are actually better-equipped to handle the loss of Cameron, for any period of time, than anyone had thought.