CLEVELAND -- When the Cleveland Browns traded Corey Coleman to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, the team's depth at wide receiver took a hit.
It may have just taken another one.
According to court records, rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway was cited for possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license in Strongsville early Sunday morning.
Such citation would be cause for concern for any player, let alone one with the track record of Callaway. In addition to being investigated for sexual assault, a marijuana citation and having been suspended for a full season due to a credit card scam during his college career at Florida, Callaway failed his drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine, which played a role in the 21-year-old dropping to the fourth round.
After selecting Callaway with the No. 105 pick following a trade with the New England Patriots, the Browns knew they were taking a risk. And now it appears their comments -- and faith in Callaway -- could ultimately come back to bite them.
"My message was very clear – I wanted to take the football out of it, not only myself but [General Manager] John Dorsey, as well. We both sat down with him and had a very upfront, candid conversation with him," Browns head coach Hue Jackson said shortly after the draft. "He knows that he has our support and that we are going to do anything and everything that we can to assist him off of the field first to make sure that is right, and that we have no tolerance for things that are not becoming of the Cleveland Browns. We are not going to dabble into any of that. I think he got that message loud and clear. I think he is up to the challenge."
As it turns out, Jackson and Dorsey's read on the situation may have been too optimistic, potentially leaving the Browns in a bind at one of the more shallow positions on the depth chart. With Josh Gordon still away from the team and Coleman left in Buffalo, Cleveland possesses little experience outside of Pro Bowl slot receiver Jarvis Landry.
Callaway, who's shown flashes of promise in training camp, was expected to play a role in helping bridge that gap, as evidenced by the first-team reps he was taking as recently as Tuesday afternoon -- when news of his citation was first made public. But if Jackson's words after the draft are to be believed, Callaway's time in Cleveland could be over before it ever truly begins.