No, Browns coach Hue Jackson was not impressed with punter Andy Lee’s alleged effort to chase down a return touchdown last week.
But that’s not why Lee was traded.
The Browns sent the Pro Bowl punter to Carolina yesterday for a 2018 fourth-round pick, which was reason enough to jettison a high-earning player on what still figures to be a bad team.
It was easy to wonder if Lee watching Tampa Bay returner Adam Humphries go 73 yards for a touchdown — while barely jogging after him, far enough behind to stay safely out of the picture — had anything to do with it. Jackson lit into Lee on the sidelines for loafing, but said that didn’t prompt the deal.
“No, that had nothing to do with it,’' Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We see an opportunity to better our situation here for the future. I totally support our team as far as making those decisions. It is probably unheard of to get a fourth-round pick in that situation for a good player. He will go back to Carolina, and I’m sure he will help that football team, but there are also some punters out there . . . [who] give us a chance to still be successful in that area. . . .
“I can guarantee everybody that wasn’t it. Obviously, I was disappointed in what happened at that time and I told him so, but that had nothing to do with the decision that we made yesterday.”
The Browns also got punter Kasey Redfern in the deal, and sent Carolina their 2017 seventh-rounder. It was a high price to pay for the Panthers, who will expect better effort out of Lee.