Deshaun Watson’s ex-Texans teammate Jordan Akins to sign with Browns

On Mar 17, 2023

Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins (88) brings down a pass for first down over Cleveland Browns defensive back Ronnie Harrison (33) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]

The Browns are adding to their tight end room. Not only that, they’re adding a familiar face for quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Tight end Jordan Akins is signing a two-year deal with the Browns, his agent David Canter announced on Twitter Friday afternoon. Akins had been on a visit with the team throughout the day, according to a league source.

The deal is worth $5.2 million. That includes incentives and signing bonus.

Akins has spent the first five seasons of his NFL career playing for the Houston Texans, including his first three seasons playing with Watson. The former third-round pick of the 2018 draft out of Central Florida has played in 73 career games, with 26 starts under his belt.

The Browns have David Njoku coming off a very good first season of a five-year extension. However, after Njoku, they don’t have a tight end who is necessarily a dynamic pass catcher.

Harrison Bryant, their 2020 fourth-round draft pick, has been solid for the Browns as the No. 2 tight end. However, he’s not been a game-changing player in the passing game.

Browns tight ends had 94 catches for 912 yards and five touchdowns in 2022. In his time with the Texans, Watson was a quarterback who liked to throw to the tight ends, especially in the red zone.

Watson completed 26 passes to tight ends for 235 yards and two touchdowns over the final six games last season. That was 26.3% of his 99 completions and 21.3% of his 1,102 passing yards.

From 2018-20, Akins was among Watson’s targets with Houston. In 45 games during that span, he was targeted 129 times with 90 catches for 1,046 yards and three touchdowns.