BEREA, Ohio -- Brock Osweiler's future remains murky, but the Cleveland Browns said Wednesday that he may be with the team for the start of training camp.
"Yeah, we expect Brock to be here," vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said when asked whether Osweiler would be on the team in training camp. "He is in [for the offseason program] and has done a good job coming in the first couple days. He is a positive young man who has some ability and talent. We look forward to him trying to establish himself here and have a chance to compete to be the starting quarterback."
Although Brown's words sounded definite, it's expected the Browns will continue to pursue a trade involving Osweiler during the draft.
Having the chance to compete of course depends on whether Osweiler is on the roster. At the NFL's spring meetings, coach Hue Jackson said he did not know whether Osweiler would be on the team in August. ESPN Cleveland reported that he will not be made available to the media until after the draft to be sure he's on the team at that point.
The team acquired him in early March in a deal that allowed Houston to send Osweiler's $16 million guaranteed salary to Cleveland and allowed the Browns to add a second-round draft pick in 2018.
The Browns did not originally intend to keep Osweiler. Instead, they hoped to trade him again for another draft pick.
If Osweiler stays on the team, he would join Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan and a draftee as possible starters for the Browns in '17.
Osweiler was signed by the Texans a year ago to a four-year, $72 million free-agent deal. After he completed 59 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, the Texans sent him to Cleveland to get out of $16 million in guaranteed money.