Jets sign tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. to one-year deal

Remember when Kellen Winslow Jr. was going to be the next big thing at tight end in the NFL? Cleveland Browns fans and fantasy football players do, and the New York Jets think Winslow has something left to offer.

The Jets signed Winslow, who was the sixth overall selection in the 2004 draft, to a one-year contract after he showed flashes of his potential during the team’s minicamp this week.

“I feel like it would be a great spot,” said Winslow, who turns 30 in July, of sticking with the Jets. “I like it here. I like the team, I like the teammates. Hopefully, I can stay.”

It was nearly a decade ago when he was drafted by the Browns after a stellar college career at Miami. After breaking his leg two games into his rookie season and then tearing a knee ligament before his second season, he had a breakout third season with 89 receptions for 875 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games.

Winslow, 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, hasn’t played a full season since that stellar 2006 season, playing one game as the third wheel at tight end for the New England Patriots last season behind Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez before asking for his release.

The Jets brought him to minicamp and have liked what they have seen.

“He’s still a very athletic guy,” Jets Coach Rex Ryan said earlier this week. “How many catches he had specifically, I’m not sure, but you certainly feel his presence. That athleticism and his ability to catch the football, it certainly jumps out.”

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